


Silver And Cold

by liziscribbles



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Bad Touch Chancellor, Dark Carnival AU, Emotional Manipulation, Implied Past Prostitution, Implied Physical Abuse, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Please be warned, Suicidal Thoughts, This is very dark compared to what I usually write, Thwarted Suicide Attempt, implied emotional abuse, superpower au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-10
Updated: 2017-12-23
Packaged: 2019-01-15 18:49:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 73,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12326790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liziscribbles/pseuds/liziscribbles
Summary: "The greatest thing you'll ever learn is to love and be loved in return..."To the patrons, Izunia's Soul Asylum is exactly what is prescribed on the sign: an asylum for the soul.  A place to bring your family and have fun.To the staff, however, it's more of a prison.  The proprietor, a slimy man named Ardyn Izunia, gathers crestfallen Supers who are at the very end of their rope with the promise of a safe home, a warm meal, and a soft bed.  What he's truly leading them to, however, is a life of subjugation, in service of both Ardynandhis twisted customers.And as far as they know, there's no escape.[ Dark Carnival/Superpowered AU, with some very dark themes.  PLEASE READ THE TAGS FOR WARNINGS BEFORE YOU READ THE FIC ITSELF. ♥ ]





	1. Wounded

**Author's Note:**

> **PLEASE READ THE TAGS BEFORE CONTINUING**
> 
> PLEASE BE FULLY AWARE THAT THIS IS GOING TO GO TO INCREDIBLY DARK PLACES. If you can't handle that, or if you're worried about being triggered, then please do not read this. I don't want to upset anyone. You've been warned. ♥

_lost and broken,  
hopeless and lonely.  
smiling on the outside, but hurt beneath my skin..._  
[wounded](https://open.spotify.com/track/4RXSh1j3d2ElizkHi1pgav) ;; good charlotte

Some days, it seemed like a dark curse always seemed to follow Izunia's Soul Asylum Carnival; wherever they went, clouds and rain seemed to follow. That wasn't the only curse, of course, but to patrons, it was the only one that mattered. As Noctis sat in his booth, staring up at the sky, he was wondering exactly how long it would take before the rain started to fall. The air was thick with a late autumn humidity; the type of humidity that could make a person feel like they were sixty-years-old, even when they were only twenty. Noctis' back ached, an old, nagging, childhood injury flared up, making him feel like he could crawl into bed right now, sleep the rest of the day away, and still not wake until morning.

Not that it took incredibly much to make him feel like that most days.

It was funny. Most people would have been able to muster a smile at the bright colors of the carnival. It was so old hat, so common to Noctis, that it couldn't even make his lips twitch. He was right across from a set of children's rides; a brightly lit carousel and a slowly spinning ride with rainbow seahorses as the seats. Seeing the children laughing and smiling, seeing them happy... it should have been enough to remind him of what it felt like to _be_ a kid. All it really did was make him feel miserable and jealous that he couldn't find his own smile to match. It was stupid, it was petty, and it only served to make him more miserable. The kids were usually some of his favorite customers. He should have at least been able to muster a fake smile.

Before he could sink any further into petty jealousy, Noctis tore his eyes away from the rides and looked back up to the gray sky. It seemed to be a little bit lighter today than it was most days, though. He could almost see the edges of the sun as it tried desperately to sneak around the clouds and warm them. Noctis hoped it did. He genuinely couldn't remember the last time he'd seen the sun, but it was easily a decade ago. Since before he'd been dragged into this mess.

Quickly, he shook the thought off and brought the smile back to his face. No matter what, stay smiling. That was Izunia's fourth rule. If he happened by and anyone wasn't smiling, the punishment was always severe. Noctis breathed in through his nose, wishing for a half second that he could smell fresh air, as opposed to the thickness of fry oil. Sometimes, when he was feeling particularly like making himself miserable, he would think back to fishing trips with his dad. Time spent under the sun, with it warming their skin, as the pair of them fished the day away and slept under the stars. His dad taught him all about the constellations, and would let Noctis stay up past his bedtime to illusion them into a fairy tale as he read it. Memories. They seemed like they were from a lifetime ago.

Ten years here had dimmed them to the point that they almost seemed fake. Like something that he'd dreamed up. Little details slipped away every time he tried to recall, and it was to the point that, at night, he couldn't illusion them up to make himself feel better. But then, maybe that was for the best. Feeling better felt pointless, when almost every day he was faced with the same place, the same people who thrived on making him miserable, and it just reminded of how pointless his life was now.

It wasn't always this way. Years ago, he'd had dreams. Even when he first got to this place, he had dreams. Dreams of finishing his tenure as Izunia's prized illusionist, freeing himself from this prison wrapped in the guise of a land filled with wonder, and seeing the world as a free man. Time had soured them, though. Now, dreams were just as pointless as memories.

There went the smile again. He shook his head hard, dispelling the dark cloud, and glanced out around him. It was strange. Usually, his booth was packed. People would line up for yards just to see his illusions for five minutes apiece. It wasn't like he didn't realize what value his ability had to most people; even to him sometimes, on long nights when he needed something to distract his mind from swirling down into full-on depression. It was definitely cool, for what it was. With minimal effort, he could take them to anywhere they wanted to go, and make it look, smell, feel, sound real, down to the last detail.

It wasn't as useful as some of the other abilities that he'd seen around here, though. Some of his friends had skills that were a thousand times better. Iris could manipulate probability, and Izunia had her running the games. Crowe and Nyx could create fire on cue, and manipulate it, which Izunia used for his world-renowned nightly show. Lunafreya could read the stars and it made her a perfect fortune teller. Animal communication helped Gladio tame any and all wild animals far better than his predecessor. Ignis' flexibility was an ability on its own. It made him a really, _really_ good trapeze artist for the nightly show.

Initially, Izunia had wanted Noctis for that job, but when he'd heard of Noctis' unique ability to manipulate human senses, he decided to turn Noctis into something of an attraction piece. That was why Noctis was so surprised, today, that no one was at his booth. Not ungrateful, though. _Too_ much use of his ability was exhausting to him, like what happened on busy days. A break was welcome.

A break allowed him to cast his eyes out around the rest of the carnival and see how busy everyone else was. Not that busy at all, actually. Even the booths around Noctis were quiet. The Ferris wheel was almost empty, the roller coaster had almost no line, and none of the food stalls had any customers either, save for the drink cart that had a family of four walking away. Slow days were equal parts nice and not. They made it easier on the staff during the day, but in the evening, when Izunia counted the profits, it was all the more difficult when the numbers came in low.

Heaving a sigh, Noctis did his best to prepare himself for that as he glanced down at the counter of his booth. The list of places he was 'allowed' to take patrons stared back at him, and he pushed it down the table, wanting it out of his sight. Just a reminder of the places he'd never be able to go. Not that he ever thought that he'd be able to see outer space or an undersea paradise or anything, but even that felt like it would be a hundred thousand times better than this.

When he lifted his head again... that was when he saw it.

No, not it. Him. The most beautiful human being that he'd ever seen in his life. The boy appeared to be around his age, with blond hair, blue eyes, and freckles that dusted his face like a sky full of stars. He was about Noctis' height, maybe a little smaller, and thinner than a rail. So thin that he almost looked sick. An arm rested across his chest with his hand on the other arm as he hugged himself. Those bright blue eyes—that even from this distance sparkled like sapphires—stared down at the ground in front of him in complete and utter desolation. Astrals, he looked so sad. So scared. That wasn't unusual, though. Everyone always looked sad and scared when they were dragged in here for the first time.

That was Izunia's MO, honestly. He left the carnival some days, walking the streets and looking for downtrodden and lonely souls to drag in with an offer for a safe place to stay. It had happened to every single person here. Noctis pulled his lower lip into his mouth, watching the beautiful boy for a couple of seconds longer as he took a couple of steps forward and took a look around at the shops around him.

Beautiful. Gorgeous. Was he a patron? No. He couldn't be a patron. Patrons never looked quite that sad. Usually, no matter what was going on around them, the _patrons_ at least looked happy. This boy, though... this boy looked like he was about to crumple to the ground and break down into a fit of tears. He was _thin_. Thin enough to look like he could crumple to the ground from hunger and exhaustion. Suddenly, there was nothing Noctis wanted more than to abandon his post, walk across the park, and introduce himself.

He wouldn't. Of course, he wouldn't. The punishment for abandoning one's post was severe. Noctis had only ever seen it happen once, and he'd never again seen the person who had tried. No one else was brave enough to try again. Not even Noctis.

Shaking that thought off, Noctis found his eyes drawn to the blond boy again. A smile—a _real_ one; probably as unfamiliar in look as it was in feeling—crossed his face as he watched the boy turn around to look at someone approaching him from behind. Just as quickly as the smile _appeared_ on Noctis' face, it faded. Izunia strode up beside the boy, all brazen smile and cocky strut, and placed a hand on the boy's back, starting to lead him across the carnival. The way he pointed out attractions reminded Noctis of the way he'd done so when Noctis was a child and his father had been forced into servitude here, too. Izunia's hand rested on the small of Noctis' dad's back, too, and he just barely allowed his dad to hold Noctis' hand as they walked around.

Noctis had seen Izunia give the introductory tour a hundred thousand times before. Never before had it bothered him quite this much.

Again, he shook it off. He didn't even know this boy, other than knowing that he was positively the most beautiful creature that Noctis had ever seen in his life. What right did he have to get protective? He shook it off and focused on the boy again. Except, when he caught the expression on the boy's face, his heart sank even further. The boy looked terrified. When Izunia touched his back, he tried to cringe away, but Izunia's hand chased him until it fell into place against the boy's shirt, and settled in. His hand moved over, coming to rest on the boy's thin waist and pulling him in close.

From this angle, that completely took the boy from Noctis' view, hiding his thin frame behind Izunia's large and sweeping coat. Noctis tried to crane his neck to get just one more glimpse, but all that he saw was a flash of pale skin before Izunia forced the boy around a corner. Noctis cursed under his breath. He wanted to help this boy, whoever he was. He wanted to run and find them and tell the boy to run before it was too late; before he _literally_ sold his soul to Izunia. It was more than a want. It was a need. Years ago, his father had wanted the same thing, before the loneliness and soul-crushing sadness of the Soul Asylum had crashed down on him and completely destroyed him. Noctis had vowed internally that he'd do whatever he could to see his father's wishes through, and yet, since then, that vow had fallen to the wayside.

That was enough to make him throw caution to the wind. The back door was locked from the outside, until Izunia walked around and unlocked it at the end of the day—just like all of the other booths in the area, really—but Noctis had learned to pick locks from his father and from Ignis. His hands fumbled around under the counter for the long, thin piece of metal that he kept taped underneath in case of emergencies. When he found it, he tore it off, tore the tape from it, and then hurried to the back door.

Just as he was knelt down, sliding the metal slab in between the door and the frame, he heard a throat clear from the front of the booth.

He froze. Trying not to panic, he used his ability to hide the metal in his hand for long enough to slide it into his pocket. Slowly, he turned around, and his heart leaped up into his throat when Izunia came into view in front of him. Izunia and the blond boy, who looked even sadder and even lonelier from this close. The boy looked like he was seconds from tears, and it made Noctis wish that he was both quicker and smarter. As it was, he wasn't, so he had to live with the consequences. Moving back toward the front of the booth, holding his breath the whole time, Noctis forced the fake smile back to his face before Izunia realized it was gone.

It was probably too late. Izunia had probably already noticed. If he had, though, he hadn't said anything.

"And this, dear boy, is our illusionist, Noctis Caelum." Izunia made a show of pushing the boy out in front of him, to the counter of Noctis' booth. "On command, he can take you anywhere in the world you wish to go. Or, at least, that's what he makes you _think_. A trick of the mind, you see. A trick of the mind."

Noctis wanted to say that the fact that he was ignoring Izunia was purposeful, but it wasn't. Against his volition, he found himself staring at the boy again. Even though he looked sadder and lonelier up close, he didn't look any less beautiful. It was almost like he was physically taking the breath from Noctis' lungs. He could feel the smile slipping from his face, a bashful one quickly taking its place.

Before Noctis could even speak to say hello, though, Izunia took charge of the conversation again, his Cheshire smile aimed at Noctis now. "Noctis, dear boy, this is Prompto Argentum, our new psychic. Why don't you pick your jaw up off the floor and say hello?"

The blush was completely involuntary, and it made him glance down at the floor nervously, before looking back up and greeting the boy—Prompto—with a nervous wave. "H-hey..." was all he could bring himself to say. Embarrassing, but it was what it was.

Prompto looked similarly embarrassed, which was weird, but the embarrassment completely overtaken by a sense of dread when Izunia tugged him closer again. "You two are around the same age, actually. I spotted young Prompto outside of a coffee shop, and he was looking for work. Isn't that correct?" he asked Prompto.

His answer came in a meek, barely audible voice. "Y-yeah," he murmured.

In that second, it was almost like Noctis was feeling some kind of second-hand horror. The feeling permeated him, making him feel like quivering or ducking out from underneath Izunia's arm himself, which was strange—really strange—given the fact that he wasn't the one that Izunia seemed so intent to touch. Prompto looked at him, though, bright blue eyes wide as a deer's eyes, and when Noctis met those eyes, he turned to look away. Prompto's eyes were on the ground, shame almost seeming to overtake fear in that instant, and for a split second, Noctis wondered what that was about.

He didn't get to wonder for too long, because the shame seemed to overtake _him_ , too. That, at least, he could attribute to the fact that he'd been staring at Prompto like an idiot. It was definitely something to be ashamed of. Noctis could barely even _talk_ to the other boy, so... expecting him _not_ to be weirded out by someone who could barely even talk to him, staring at him like Noctis had been? Yeah, of course, it made him nervous. And of _course_ it was something to be ashamed of.

Noctis forced himself to look back up at Izunia, who was looking between the two of them with an incredibly amused look on his face. The nervousness on each of their faces seemed to entertain him, and it looked like he was barely holding back a cavalcade of laughter as he tugged Prompto closer to him.

It was almost like a 'no' warning to Noctis, but Noctis was already telling _himself_ that enough for the two of them.

"That reminds me. Noctis, dear boy. While I was out in town, I heard word from the Nifilian Sanitarium. You know. The one where they're keeping your father?" The way Izunia turned to look at Prompto when he spoke those words told Noctis that he was saying it in an attempt to humiliate Noctis even further; like he was trying to knock Noctis down a peg, while simultaneously reminding the pair of them who truly owned the carnival.

As much as Noctis wanted not to rise to the bait, as much as he wanted to go back to his business and pretend that he hadn't heard anything... he missed his father. Ever since Regis Caelum tried to escape five years ago, in an attempt to make a run for it and find them help with an old occultist friend of his, and the group learned the true price of escape attempts. Later the evening that his father and Clarus Amicitia made their escape attempt, Izunia left the grounds and came back with the pair of them. Well... at least, it _looked_ like the pair of them.

The only difference was that they were completely unresponsive. Their eyes were open, but completely white and unmoving, and while they would move, it was only when someone else guided them. Izunia dismissed it as a mental illness, and had the pair of them sent to a sanitarium in Niflheim, where supposedly, top doctors would look after them and monitor their condition. Noctis, as well as Clarus' two children Iris and Gladio, had other suspicions.

It was a well-known rumor, and one that had plenty of backing in fact, that anyone who dared try to escape the traveling carnival had their soul stolen by Izunia. No one knew what Izunia's ability was, though everyone knew that he _had_ one. There wasn't anyone alive, or at least of sound mind, who had ever seen him use it. The accepted rumor among the carnival workers, though, was that it was a soul collection ability, and that he'd collected both Clarus and Regis' souls the night of their attempted escape.

Noctis wanted, more than anything, to tell Izunia to leave. He wanted to tell Izunia that he didn't _care_ what the man had to say about his father, but that was pretty much the furthest thing from the truth. He wanted to know, equally as much as he didn't want to know. If there was any chance whatsoever that his father's condition had improved, that there was a way that maybe he could get back to his occultist friend and find some way to free everyone from this place, of _course_ Noctis wanted to know. So, swallowing back any emotion before it had the chance to make him look foolish, he glanced up from the table and looked Izunia square in the eye.

"And?" he questioned simply.

Izunia's laughter was mocking. "No manners? No please or thank you? What a fine example you're setting for your new colleague, Master Caelum," he admonished, a cruel smile crossing his face as he looked Noctis over expectantly.

Mocking. Noctis could feel his teeth gritting with the strain of his attempt not to say or do something that he'd regret. Not that he really felt like he'd regret it down to his _bones_ , but he and Izunia already had a tentative relationship, because Noctis was one of the only people in his service who dared to speak up. Usually. Not now. Maybe it was the weird, lingering feeling of fear that he couldn't seem to shake. It wasn't like he was actually _scared_ of Izunia or anything. So, where was the fear coming from?

Truthfully, it didn't matter. If he wanted the update on his father's condition, he needed to suck it up, play Izunia's game, and at least _fake_ politeness toward the man. So, that was what he did. The fake smile, the fake happiness, was still steadily on his face when he flicked up to look at Izunia's face.

With an attempt at politeness, Noctis breathed in, let it out, and then said, "please, Mr. Izunia, sir. Can you give me an update on my father's condition?"

"Was that so hard?" Izunia chided again, and then tentatively loosened his hold around Prompto's waist. "Your father has fallen ill, Master Caelum. Terribly ill. The sanitarium is doing everything they can, of course, but with the fact that no one truly knows about his _initial_ condition," the Cheshire smile faded into a scowl, a non-verbal threat to Noctis to keep his mouth shut, "there's truly not much that they think they'll be able to do about this one, either. From what my associate in Niflheim tells me, he'll be fortunate to survive the year."

Noctis wasn't sure if he had ever physically felt his heart sinking before. The feeling of a sinking heart was something that people often threw around as a metaphor. Or a simile. Noctis wasn't sure which it was, but right then, what he was feeling was _neither_. He could almost physically feel his heart sinking through his chest and into his stomach. His father was dying. It was suspected that he wouldn't survive the rest of the year. Noctis tried as hard as he could not to let the emotion show on his face, but just for a second, it did. It was almost like showing an enemy his opening.

In fact, it was almost _exactly_ like that, because the way Izunia pouted a dramatic face and reached out to place a hand on Noctis' shoulder. "It's quite a shame that you are unable to go see him, isn't it, dear boy? I'm sure you miss him as much as he probably misses you."

The taunts had no effect. Or, at least that was what Noctis wanted to say. His expression drooped, and he refused to meet eyes with either Izunia _or_ Prompto, who Noctis could see in his periphery, watching him with a new layer of sadness in his eyes. Sympathy. Worry. Why was Prompto worried about Noctis, someone he didn't know from a hole in the ground? He should have been more worried about himself. Seeming to come from nowhere, a wave of sympathy hit him, almost strongly enough to drown out the complete and utter despair that Noctis felt washing over him.

Almost. Not quite.

Izunia turned to Prompto, flashing the other boy a snake's smile. "Come, Prompto. We should leave young Master Caelum alone, should we not? To deal with the news."

It looked, for a second, like Prompto wanted to object. That, more than anything, was what made Noctis flick his eyes up to meet with the blond boy's. His vision was a little bit blurry, tears that he wished _desperately_ that he wouldn't shed rising to them. Five years with his father in some weird, undead trance. Five years without a single change. All of those five years, Noctis had allowed himself to hope. He'd allowed himself to believe that _maybe_ his father would come out of it and come back with his occult friend to free everyone. Five years of believing, of hoping every night, and then all of a sudden it was gone.

Prompto watched him as the pair retreated, Izunia continuing on with his stories and his tour like he hadn't just dropped news that crushed Noctis' soul, and the last thing he remembered seeing before the boy disappeared around the edge of his booth was a furrowed brow. Was concern.

When he was gone, Noctis slid down the wall of his booth, sitting on the dirty floor, and sobbed. His father was dying. His father was never going to come out of his trance, and now Noctis would never get to see him again. With his father went his hope of ever finding freedom. Of ever seeing the sun again. Of ever remembering what it felt like to be happy.

Even as a customer walked up to the booth, ringing the service bell wildly and demanding to see Noctis _right just then_ , Noctis still didn't move from the floor. As the customer continued to berate him, continued to scream until their throat was raw, Noctis continued to cry. Maybe there would be consequences later. Maybe Noctis would have hell to pay. Right now, he didn't care for a damn. Not even a little bit. He didn't care about anything. Not the mysteriously sad boy who had just breezed through his life, not Izunia, not his friends, not himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY SO. I'm genuinely hoping that this isn't... too much. It's incredibly different from anything I've ever written before, and I'm sincerely hoping that I don't butcher everything to hell.
> 
> Thank you so much to everyone over on the FFXV Content Creator Discord server for helping me feel a little bit more confident about posting this. And a really big thank you to [nicoleiacross](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nicoleiacross/pseuds/nicoleiacross), as usual, for being my idea bouncer, and for always encouraging me. I don't know what I'd do without you, friendo. :D


	2. Under Control

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> REMINDER: Please read the tags. Trigger warnings this chapter: suicidal thoughts, thwarted suicide attempt.

_i've nothing to defend,_  
_and you have suffered enough._  
_help me make amends..._  
[under control](https://open.spotify.com/track/0viWRuz7h7EnH8iqJGkAWG) ;; cary brothers

_"Just have a meal and acquaint yourself with the park today, dear boy. Tomorrow, the fun truly begins."_

Prompto had just watched as Mr. Izunia folded the contract in his hands, sliding it into a locked file cabinet, and then turned to look back at him with a curling smile that made Prompto want to rush for the exit. Of course, so had everything else that happened since he met with Mr. Izunia, so that wasn't much of a stretch. Next to a coffee shop, looking for work. That was what Mr. Izunia had told everyone that he'd introduced Prompto to when he was giving the tour. The story was true, at least in the basest of ways. Prompto had definitely been next to a coffee shop. And he'd definitely been desperate for work.

What Mr. Izunia had failed to mention—though Prompto was hardly complaining about the fact that it hadn't come up in conversation—was the nature of Prompto's job outside of the carnival, and the fact that Mr. Izunia had tried to hire him for _more_ than just the carnival. Prompto had accepted the one turn, but not the request for permanence. Though that didn't mean that Mr. Izunia hadn't tried again, though. _"The option is always on the table, my pet,"_ was what he'd cooed into Prompto's ear after he'd turned the 'personal assistant' offer down.

Still, that didn't mean that Prompto would forget the fact that he _had_ done it to begin with. He couldn't. And definitely not in a good way, either. Prompto breathed a shaky, disgusted breath, just remembering the feeling of the man's cold hands on his skin. The way the man had practically purred into his ear when he spoke. Astrals above, if Prompto had been given any other choice; if he wasn't so damn near starving, he would have said no. Both to letting the man hire him the one time, _and_ for letting the man hire him to work at the carnival. Still, the promise of square meals and of a place to sleep that wasn't in the chilly and unforgiving streets of Niflheim was too much for him to pass up. He couldn't recall the last time he had a meal that wasn't scraps thrown away by the greedy fat cats that lived in the city. He couldn't recall the last time he'd slept with a _blanket_ , not with one eye open in an alley.

The whole idea had been too tempting. Even a shower, which Mr. Izunia had ordered Prompto to take _before_ he'd gone to get his meal, had felt amazing. Even despite that, though, Prompto couldn't shake the fact that he felt like he'd made a huge mistake. He'd read the contract as thoroughly as he could, but... Mr. Izunia didn't exactly seem like the type who oozed trust. While Prompto hadn't _seen_ anything on the page that would be completely unbearable—other than, maybe, the fact that he wasn't allowed to leave without facing some mystery punishment—that didn't mean that it wasn't there.

If his years on the street had taught him anything, they had taught him that nothing was ever as good or as nice as it seemed. Nothing about this seemed nice to begin with, so Prompto could only imagine what was hiding behind the oily smile and too-touchy nature of the carnival's proprietor. It was too late now, though. In his desperation to get _some_ kind of food, he'd signed the contract. Whatever _was_ hidden in the pages of the contract, it had been enough to make everyone Prompto had seen so far look _miserable_ and feel trapped. That was the feeling that Prompto got the most, from every single one of the employees that he met. An overwhelming, crushing, suffocating sense of feeling trapped. Every time he'd seen one of them, he'd done what he could do. Projecting a tiny little bit of happiness in hopes of making them a little bit less miserable. Still, the trapped feeling lingered on, and that was all he got from any of them.

Well, except for that one boy. Except for Noctis.

As Prompto sat on a bench near the food stalls, he found himself thinking back to his meeting with the dark-haired boy. The trapped feeling had definitely still been there, and in spades for that matter, but there had been something else, too. A deep down, gut-wrenching sense of misery and loneliness. Prompto felt it radiating from the boy, and it was almost enough to drown out the trapped feeling coming from every other corner of the park. It worried Prompto, to the point that he wondered if Noctis was okay now.

While he poked through the pile of fries on his plate, he thought back to the way that Mr. Izunia had so easily dropped the news of Noctis' father into their conversation. Prompto watched as the other boy broke down, and he caught sight of the way he slid down the wall on the other side of his booth before Mr. Izunia had forced Prompto around the corner and continued to show him around. Brushing a hand down the new work clothes that Mr. Izunia had given him—the place was themed; all of the carnival workers dressed in black and silver, and Prompto's outfit was way more outlandish than anything he'd ever had to wear before—he sighed as he craned his neck to try and get a look at the booth.

The area that it was in was kind of far away. Past a couple of rides and on the other side of a food stand. So, if Prompto wanted a chance to see it, to see _Noctis_ , he would have to get up and go there himself.

Whatever he might have been feeling at the moment, it sounded—and felt, if the feelings he'd absorbed from the booth as he walked away—like Noctis needed someone. Really needed someone, probably. The wave of desolation that Noctis had thrown off was unlike any Prompto had felt before even on his own, and Prompto was truthfully no stranger to desolation. He grabbed the basket with his fries, spotty ketchup, and the crumpled up aluminum wrapper to his zu burger, pushing himself up from the bench and munching on another fry as he walked around. Some of the people he'd met on the tour were working; the night crew had swapped with the day crew, and most of the booths were closed. Prompto wondered if maybe he was out of luck.

Shaking the worry off, he continued walking toward the booth. The girl that ran the games—Mr. Izunia had introduced her as Iris Amicitia—gave him a cordial wave as he passed by, to which he responded to in kind, though his was shier and more nervous as he turned to glance down at the ground. He didn't really know anyone here, not that it particularly mattered. He hadn't known anyone outside of the carnival, either, so it wasn't a real change. Still, ingratiating himself into a whole group of new people was terrifying.

He shook the thought off, finishing the last two fries in his basket and then tossing the basket into the trash as he rounded the corner to the illusion booth he'd seen Noctis at. The lights down this lane were out, and it was pretty obvious to Prompto that no one here was on the clock anymore. On the off chance that he'd still be around, though, Prompto put his hands into the pockets of his coeurl print pants—who in the world had thought of those as a good fashion choice?—and continued down the aisle, taking in the other booths on his path.

The divination booth was closed, and so was the palm reading booth. Closed, with the shutters down, and Prompto didn't pick up any emotions from anyone nearby. That, he figured, was another useful part of his empathy. He could always tell when people were close, because whatever they were feeling started to worm its way into Prompto's own mood. It was good as often as it was bad.

No sign of Noctis, or anyone else, anywhere. Prompto looked outside of the fringes of the carnival. Where it had stopped in Niflheim, it was right next to the ocean. Prompto hated the ocean in this part of the country. They were clean, sure, but they were also cold and filled with jagged rocks no matter where he looked. During the summer, he'd tried to sleep on the beach once after being kicked out of his motel room, but there were no sandy beaches; nowhere with anything comfortable to rest his head. Here was no different. The grassy ground sloped upward just slightly, into cliff sides that led down into jagged rocks at the bottom. A hazard for any of the kids who visited the carnival. He wondered if Mr. Izunia cared. Frankly, he didn't strike Prompto as the type who would care if a child fell to their death.

In fact, he probably had a legion of legal experts around who helped him make it seem like it was the kids' fault. Prompto curled his lip against his volition. He hated people like that. People like that were why he was forced into the life he was in. People who put dollar signs before human lives.

It happened everywhere, but Niflheim always seemed to be worse. Way worse, honestly. That was why Prompto had even been dragged into this mess to begin with. Well, indirectly, anyway. He'd grown up in several orphanages all throughout Lucis, after being saved from a father who was still a mystery to him. Not a mystery in the sense that Prompto didn't know who he was; Prompto knew. He also knew that the man was terrible. That he'd been responsible, directly or indirectly, for the destruction of way too many of lives all over the world. Beyond that, he couldn't really get any answers out of anyone.

That was probably for the best though. Some things were better left unknown. After Prompto had been put into the system, though, he'd moved around from foster home to foster home, none of which ever really lasted more than a few months at a time. A year at most. There was always some factor that put him back into the system again. His foster parents didn't care, or they were alcoholics, or abusive... too much stacked up against him, really.

When he was sixteen, he'd opted to try and strike out on his own, and for a little while, he'd done well. Or, at least he always thought that he'd done well. He finished high school and took odd jobs in photography, taking shots for magazines and newspapers. After awhile, though, people just stopped hiring him. Prompto wasn't sure if it was because of a sudden change in skill level, or because people just turned to someone else or something, but for whatever reason, his business crashed and he'd been forced to take on a job as a bellboy at the Leville in Lestallum. It had never really been enough to put him in luxury; it bought him a third-rate apartment in the center of town, one where the paint on the walls chipped and the windows didn't open or close all the way; he was pretty sure that the doors didn't even lock properly, either. It was a roof, though, and whatever was wrong with it, he was fully aware that it was a hundred thousand times better than living on the street.

He was more aware of that now than he'd been then, for that matter.

When his photographs stopped selling, and he got fired from his bellboy job, so he couldn't make rent anymore. It wasn't long before he lost the apartment. For a time, he stayed with friends, crashing on their couches and looking for another job, until he started to feel too guilty about it. His childhood best friends, two of the other kids from one of his earlier foster homes, Loqi and Cindy, had told him not to worry; that he could stay with one of them until he got back up on his feet, but he couldn't. Not in good conscience. One day, without warning, he packed what little he had and left Loqi's apartment. He left Loqi a note, telling him that he was going to try a different city and see if things would be any better for him there. With the last of his money—and the sale of his best camera—he took the bus to Galdin Quay and then the boat to Altissia.

For a time, things had been better in Altissia, too. His pictures started selling again, albeit very few of them, and not for nearly as much as he'd gotten back in Lestallum. It was enough to get him food, and he shared an apartment with a group of other people his age. There were about six of them living under the same roof. Most of them were great people. A couple, though, weren't. One, a man a few years older than Prompto by the name of Luche Lazarus, stole three of Prompto's cameras, most of his clothes, and all of the money he'd saved. Prompto was left with nothing but a pair of cameras, the clothes on his back, and no immediate plan.

That was around the time his photos stopped selling again.

Maybe he could have stayed in Altissia and tried to make it work. He hadn't, though. There were no jobs that he could do there, and he couldn't even really afford to prosecute Luche for what he'd done, so the guy had just walked free. He sold one of his two remaining cameras for about five or six hundred gil—though he was pretty sure that it was worth more than that, but he was so desperate that he hadn't cared—and used that money to board the train back to Niflheim. Maybe the wiser choice would've been to go completely for broke, sell everything he had left, and either go back to Lestallum or go to Insomnia. He was attached to the one camera he had left, though. A gift for his seventeenth birthday from Cindy and her girlfriend, and one of the only things he had left from when he felt like he really had a home. He still had it with him; one of the few personal possessions that he allowed himself to keep.

His decision then had been impulsive, probably, and not the best one. It had been a year, almost to the day, since Prompto had thrown aside the decision to go to Lestallum or Insomnia in favor of going to Niflheim to try and find out if he had any birth family beyond his father. What he'd found was very much not what he was looking for.

A trail of dead ends that led him all around an unforgiving country, with no food and almost no clothing, and no job openings for a photographer or even anything _else_ , really. He didn't even have enough money to make it through the harsh Nifilian winter safely. Prompto couldn't even get to Gralea on what he'd had left. Not without selling his camera. So, he ended up settling down in the always-frozen town of Ghovoras. In order to eat at all; in order _not_ to sleep on the frozen streets every night, Prompto had needed to resort to less than desirable things. When he was completely out of options... that was when he sold his body for the first time.

The passing businessman had seen him, shivering and huddling close to a building in an attempt to stay warm. He hadn't exactly looked like the type of person that Prompto could generally trust, no, but when he'd offered Prompto eight hundred gil for sex, that was the farthest thing from Prompto's mind. Eight hundred gil. It wasn't a _lot_. It probably wasn't even _enough_ for what he was giving up. Having been on his second day without food, though, he was desperate. All he could think was that eight hundred gil could buy him two nights in the Ghovoras Motel—not exactly five star, and not exactly _clean_ , but compared to sleeping on the street it was—and something to eat, if he was careful. Somehow, he'd ended up bargaining the price up to a thousand. It bought him three nights, and enough food to _actually_ eat for a week.

That was when Prompto decided that it was better than nothing.

Eight hundred gil was his going rate for a long time. A couple of times, he tried to adjust it to a thousand, in hopes of getting an apartment or maybe finding some sort of security, but it never amounted to much. Clients were too few and far between, and the ones that he _did_ have told Prompto that they would only let him raise the price if he allowed them to go unprotected. He refused, and one man in particular—a sleazy journalist by the name of Dino—had decided to _lower_ the price by two hundred instead. Prompto still went with him; he'd been desperate then, too, but... after that, he'd never tried to raise his rates again.

It was hard, letting these men touch and manhandle him, and feeling the disgust and pity coming from all of them. Most of them felt like Prompto wasn't even a person. He'd read it loud and clear, and he would have been able to even _without_ his empathetic ability. The bruises from rough hands grabbing his ribs and hips told him that much loud and clear.

It had been a few months since he accepted it as his lot in life. A few months since he'd opted to just take clients and live in motels when he could. That was when Mr. Izunia showed up and, after hiring him, refused to pay and instead offered Prompto a 'home,' food, and a steady job at his traveling carnival. The man was disgusting, and Prompto's instinct was screaming at him to say no and run, but a home, a steady job, and _food_... it was too much to pass up. Even if it _wasn't_ everything it was supposed to be, it was still better than sleeping on the frozen streets of Ghovoras.

Prompto shook his head hard, trying to shake himself out of the weird trance that he was in, thinking about the past. He _hated_ thinking about the past. Turning his head to take a final glance along the row of booths, he frowned and glanced down at the ground when he realized that Noctis wasn't there. He was probably resting or something. Sleeping and coping with the news that he'd gotten that day. Of course he was. Prompto couldn't blame him.

Except, he only made it a couple of steps before it hit him. A feeling of sadness, of despair so _overwhelming_ that it almost knocked him over. It hit him from the right. From the cliffside. Prompto snapped his head to the right and looked around, trying to see through a pair of booths and into the darkness beyond them. Where in the hell had that come from? There was nothing over there but ocean. Ocean... that connected to a cliffside. A cliffside that led down to a beach full of jagged stone and... it only took another second for Prompto to realize what was happening.

This was bad. This was _really_ bad.

It wasn't like he could physically follow the feeling. Or was it? He used to do it all the time when he was a kid, back when he was living in Longwythe in the foster home with Cindy and Loqi and one of the two of them would get upset, Prompto would follow the feeling and find them, usually crying, and goof off until he made them laugh again. He hadn't done it in a long time, but... he knew that it was possible.

Turning, he glanced back over his shoulder at the rest of the park. Everyone went about their business, completely oblivious to what seemed to be happening, so... it really _was_ up to Prompto. The smart thing to do would probably have been to go and get help, but who knew if he would make it in time? So, he sidled between a pair of booths and flicked his eyes up to the sky when—almost as though it was some kind of pathetic destiny or something—a spattering of rain started falling down on him. It didn't stop him. The cliffside wasn't far, and he was pretty sure that this was still carnival property as far as Mr. Izunia was concerned. If it wasn't, Prompto guessed that he'd find out what the horrible consequences were a lot sooner than he thought.

As he walked, he pulled in a heavy breath. The feeling was stronger the closer he got. It was something that he'd had to teach himself as a kid and a teenager—to compartmentalize emotions that he was picking up from others and differentiate them from his own—and usually, he was so good at it. This, though... this was not that easy. The sadness, the resignation that hit him was too strong. Too sad.

When he neared the emotion's source, he blinked into the darkness, squinting and trying to get a look at the span of space in front of him. On the edge of the cliffside was a dark silhouette. A dark silhouette of a boy that was only a little bit taller than Prompto was. Another step closer showed Prompto what, unwittingly, he hoped he wouldn't see.

Noctis. It was Noctis.

"Um... N-Noctis?" Prompto called out.

The other boy startled, lost his balance, and almost fell over the edge of the cliff. Prompto rushed forward a couple of steps, planning to grab his arm to steady him, but it proved to be unnecessary when he steadied himself. He swallowed nervously, then turned his head just slightly. He didn't even look over his shoulder, didn't glance Prompto's way, really, when he said, "go away. You don't... you don't want to see this."

So, Prompto was right. That was what he was planning on doing. Pulling in a nervous breath, Prompto shook his head, almost as though Noctis could see it. "No. I'm... I'm not going anywhere," he insisted.

Noctis still hadn't jumped, and Prompto allowed himself to hope that _just_ the thought of having someone else there was enough to deter the other boy from his decision. Hope, as often happened in his life, proved as useful as a sweater underwater. "Fine," Noctis shrugged nonchalantly. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

At first, Prompto wasn't sure exactly what to do. Noctis looked completely intent. Like his mind was made and there was nothing that Prompto could do to unmake it. It was worrying. Really worrying, because of all the people that Prompto had met today, he had the most questions about Noctis. Noctis was the one that gathered his attention the most. He blinked as Noctis took another step forward, toward the edge, and shook his head no as he stepped forward.

"H-hey! Hey, don't!" he called out, stopping when Noctis turned to look at him again.

The other boy's face was shaded by the darkness that was the rainy night, and the rain was just barely starting to come down hard enough to make his hair stick to his forehead and obscure his eyes from view. "I... I don't know why you came here." In his voice, Prompto could very clearly hear the thickness of tears. "But... you should really leave. You should... you should go back to the carnival, okay? Before you-"

Prompto shook his head, taking another step forward. But when Noctis, too, took another step forward, he froze and took a step back. "No! N-No, don't!" he pleaded. "Come back here, please? L-let me help you instead!" It was a useless plea, really, because what could _he_ do to help anyone, when he couldn't even help himself? He wanted to try, though. He _really_ wanted to try.

With a shake of his head that Prompto only noticed because of the way it made his shoulders wiggle just a little bit, he murmured, "you can't help me," in a voice that Prompto could just barely hear. "Y-you can't, okay? No one can. Neither of us can even leave this place, and no one who ever comes even cares enough to try helping! S-so..." Noctis tilted his body forward, glancing down over the edge, before standing back up straight. "N-no one can help me. Especially not you."

Okay, so, Prompto understood why he felt the way he did. Sometimes, Prompto felt the same. Given the news that Mr. Izunia had just given him that day? It wasn't really surprising that he was feeling like this. Prompto tried to make himself ignore the sting that came with the implication that Prompto couldn't do anything to help, and continued to _desperately_ attempt to block out the sadness that radiated off of Noctis in waves that the ocean in front of them would have been jealous of. He didn't step forward again; it had made Noctis respond in kind last time, and he really didn't want to watch the other boy jump. He didn't want the other boy to jump at all.

"Let me try, at least?" The voice Prompto mustered was meeker, quieter, than he wanted it to be. He couldn't help it, though. It was hard blocking out despair this strong.

Noctis sniffled, the noise carried over the space between them, and Prompto watched as he turned his head just slightly, glancing at Prompto over his shoulder. "I... I really don't think you can. Unless you can get me the hell out of here so I have a chance to see my dad again before he..." He stumbled over his words for a second, "before he's..."

Except, Prompto didn't let him finish. There was nowhere that the end of that sentence could go that would make Noctis happy. "You could talk to me instead," he offered. "I know I don't know you, and you don't know me. B-but sometimes that's... sometimes anonymity helps. Right? Someone who doesn't already know can give you a fresh outlook and everything. I wouldn't mind..." At all, really. Anything was better than what this situation was shaping up to be.

Again, Noctis shook his head hard. "What good is talking about it? He's dying either way. I haven't seen him since I was fifteen, and I'll never..." He turned his head, staring up at the sky, before glancing over at the edge again. "I'm tired of feeling it. I'm tired of being here every day, being forced to smile and obey and let people walk all over me all the time because-" He stopped short, glancing the opposite direction toward a small trailer that Mr. Izunia had introduced as his office. "I'm tired of missing my dad, and of knowing that he's sick and that there's nothing I can do about it and... I just want... I just want it to _stop_. So, you _can't_ help me. And... and talking doesn't do anything..."

It was true, really. When had talking about Prompto's problems ever helped him? Noctis leaned closer to the edge, and Prompto felt a surge of panic overtaking the despair that Noctis was putting forth. He shook his head, his voice sounding as frantic as he felt when he spoke up again. "D-don't! Please! Don't jump, Noctis, okay? There... there's got to be something in your life that's worth sticking around for. Right? Someone? Friends?" he asked.

Somehow, his plea managed to make Noctis stop again, and he turned his head again. "Why do you care?" he asked. "You shouldn't be worried about me. Y-you should be worried about you. And this place."

Prompto was very rapidly coming to that realization that Noctis was right about that. He'd known, of course, that the carnival wasn't what it seemed, but if it had driven Noctis to this point... Shaking that thought off, he dared himself to step forward again. "But... I am. I'm worried about you because, regardless of what happens to me, you're here. You're... you're thinking about jumping off a cliff, Noctis. I don't want to say that nothing can be bad enough to make you feel like that, because believe me, I know it can." He laughed a humorless note, trying to crane his head enough to catch the other boy's gaze. Noctis wouldn't let him, though.

Even so, Prompto kept talking. "You paused when I said friends, though. So, that means you have them. Right?"

It was a quiet response, but Noctis just nodded his head.

"A-and... I know I probably shouldn't bring him up, but... your father?" Prompto looked up, watching as Noctis tensed. "He wouldn't want this either, right? If you love him so much, he must have been… must _be_... a good person. He must love _you_. So... so, he wouldn't want this, either. Right?"

Noctis looked like he wanted to shrink in on himself, but he nodded his head again. "That's why I... that's why I can't... he doesn't deserve to die. He didn't deserve to..." He stopped short, his shoulders shaking with unsteady breaths that came with tears. He still wasn't jumping, though, so Prompto counted it as progress. Saddening progress, worrisome progress, but progress all the same.

A flash of guilt rose up, but Prompto chased it away before he ended up projecting that on Noctis, too. The last thing Noctis needed now was to feel guilty, on top of everything else. Instead, he tried to focus on something else. A positive emotion. Something that would, maybe, convince Noctis to step away from the edge and talk to him a little bit more. Trust was good. Prompto didn't really have a lot to draw from as far as trust went, but he found himself thinking back to Cindy and Loqi when trying to find it. He thought of some of the nicer people from back in the apartment in Altissia; some of the ones who had promised, before he left, to try and get his stuff back.

Oddly enough, he thought of Noctis, too.

The boy was a stranger, but he was obviously just as miserable as Prompto was, so... it made sense, right? It made sense that he'd gravitate toward trusting Noctis. Shaking off the internal question, he glanced up at Noctis again. "I know it's asking a lot. For you to trust me. But... can you try? Please? I don't think you really want to jump, Noctis. I don't think... I don't think you want to die. Do you?"

There was no answer at all, just more convulsive sobs, and Prompto realized that was all he was going to get. It wasn't a jump off the edge, so he'd take it.

"Can you... c-can _I_ come closer? Come up there?"

Noctis lifted his head, sniffled, but nodded.

Prompto pulled in a deep breath and stepped forward, closer to the edge of the cliff. The ground was slippery, so it was a little nerve-wracking, but he didn't let fear stop him. When he got close enough to see Noctis up close, he noticed that the other boy's clothes were soaking wet with rain.

When Noctis didn't move, Prompto dared himself to reach a hand up and place it on the other boy's shoulder. "I don't... I don't think you want to die," he repeated.

At first, it didn't look like Noctis was going to say anything. He shuddered, a combination of a chill from the rain and the fact that he was almost definitely crying behind the rain. Turning to look at Prompto, his dark blue eyes shining even brighter than they had earlier with tears, he shook his head. "I... don't," he agreed. "I just... don't want to feel like this anymore."

As much as Prompto wanted to help with that—and under normal circumstances, maybe he would have been able to—right then, he was too devastated to project any sort of happiness. What he could project, though, was more trust. More comfort. Was it manipulative? Probably a little bit. If it got Noctis away from the edge, if it got Noctis to come with him, back into the carnival and maybe over toward the caravans so that he could dry off and they could talk? Prompto would do it. Noctis hugged himself again, and Prompto swallowed nervously, internally debating before he spoke up once more.

With a nod, he tugged just slightly on Noctis' shoulder so that the dark haired boy was turned around to face him. "Please don't jump. Okay? I know you don't know me at all, and that you don't... you don't owe me anything, but... give me a chance? Come and talk with me for a little while, okay? We can swap sob stories." He smiled a joking smile.

That actually coaxed the slightest lip twitch from Noctis. It wasn't a smile, but it also wasn't more tears. It was probably the projection of trust more than anything, that made Noctis agree, and not any desire to spend time with Prompto, but that was okay. It was better than the company he usually kept. So, with that in mind, Prompto slid his hand down, letting it come to rest on the bare flesh of Noctis' hand, and beckoned with his head for the other boy to follow him. Back into the carnival. A place that, apparently, they couldn't escape. Prompto frowned, but kept the frown turned away from Noctis and chased the negative feelings away before they had a chance to take root. Not now. Later.

When Noctis stepped back from the ledge and followed him, for the first time in a long, long time, Prompto felt a swell of relief flood him. Of pride. Of... happiness. When he was sure that Noctis was following him, he dropped Noctis' hand and let his own fall back to his side, and the pair of them walked back to the carnival together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOO BOY, starting off on an emotional note here, folks.


	3. When It Rains

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings: suicidal thoughts.

_you made yourself a bed at the bottom of the blackest hole;  
and you'll sleep till may, you'll say that you don't wanna see the sun anymore._  
[when it rains](https://open.spotify.com/track/2owXQZEmYfwbUXzaliVSpj) ;; paramore

Prompto was in Noctis' caravan's bathroom, getting dressed. He didn't have any clothes of his own, so Noctis had loaned him a pair of drawstring pajama pants and an old t-shirt to wear, and then quickly changed from his rainy work uniform in the main compartment of the caravan. As much as he hated this place, he didn't really mind his caravan. Izunia had actually decked the caravans out with whatever they needed. A really small washing machine and dryer, fit for only one or two outfits at a time, a sink, a hot plate, and a toaster oven, and a really weak shower and toilet in the bathroom. Once a month, he allowed them to shop for themselves, for clothes and food to get them by.

On the condition, of course, that they were back by the time the park closed. If they weren't, the assumption was that the same thing that had happened to Noctis' dad would happen to them. Noctis frowned again, looking out the window next to his bed at the rain as it fell, and at the ledge that overlooked the ocean.

Why had he let Prompto talk him into coming back? How had Prompto managed to _do_ it? Just a few minutes spent talking to each other, and Prompto managed to make him step back and change his mind. At least for now. Noctis blinked hard, shaking his head just as hard and standing up to go turn the coffee maker off. The laundry still tumbled in the washing machine, and when it finished washing, he would flip it, but for now, he busied himself with making the pair of them a hot pot of coffee and, maybe, getting Prompto some more food.

It wasn't like Noctis had a lot. Some frozen snacks and some chips that he'd stowed away from the last time he'd gone into town. A frozen pizza sat in the toaster oven for the pair of them to split, and if Prompto didn't want that, then Noctis had other options, too.

How, he wondered, did the blond seem to care so much about Noctis when _he_ looked like he was miserable, too? He sighed, smoothing a hand through his hair and looking up at the ceiling. Why did Prompto care so much? Why did _Noctis_ feel so safe around him back there? The feeling had faded a little bit, to an awkward type of anxiety, as the pair of them walked back to Noctis' caravan. Even now, he was feeling a little bit anxious as he took the only two coffee cups he had down from the cabinet. One was his, and one was his dad's, left behind to Noctis when they took his dad to the sanitarium.

The thought made him frown again, and was almost enough to make him wish he'd jumped. Shaking his head hard, he poured coffee into the two mugs, filled his own with cream and sugar, and then sat down at the table. The only other seat was on the bed, but he left that to Prompto. It seemed like the other boy needed comfort, honestly. Like he'd been far too long without it.

Noctis wondered what was taking him so long, and he turned his head toward the door just in time to hear the handle click open. Prompto stepped out, and Noctis barely managed to fight back a tiny little quirked grin at how much the blond swam in his clothes. The smile faded quickly, though. Noctis wasn't big by any stretch of the imagination. He didn't really have any fat on him, he was pretty sure, so the fact his clothes were so baggy on Prompto made Noctis worry a little bit more. A lot more, actually. Scarily skinny. Noctis knew that life wasn't really any easier _outside_ of the carnival than _inside_ , especially not for Supers... but he also didn't know if Prompto was a super.

Though, the fact that he was here probably told Noctis plenty about that. His power had to be something that Izunia thought would be useful for a psychic to have. Maybe that was something that he could ask Prompto.

"Comfortable?" he asked instead, for starters.

Prompto nodded, tugging a little bit on the drawstring to tighten the pants before tying it a little bit tighter. "Yeah, actually. Thanks for lending these to me," he murmured.

With a shrug, Noctis looked down at his coffee cup. "You can keep 'em if you want. I mean..." he shrugged. "I didn't see you with any other stuff on you. You didn't have any other stuff, right?" The clothes he'd been in when Ardyn was showing him around were ratty and tattered. Maybe it was judgemental of Noctis, but he couldn't help it.

When Prompto shook his head no, he had his answer. "Just my camera. That's back in my caravan, though." He pointed further back in the cluster of caravans, before leaning against the bathroom door and looking around at some of the pictures that Noctis had in his caravan.

"So, yeah. Keep 'em."

With a sidelong glance Noctis' way, Prompto smiled a bashful smile. "Th-thanks," he muttered, his cheeks dusted pink as he glanced back at the pictures.

Noctis found himself wondering what was so fascinating about them. Most of Noctis' pictures were of his friends on staff. He was close to many of them, while others—others who were unshakably loyal to Izunia and got preferential treatment because of it—sort of creeped him out. Some, though, were from back when he was a kid. Back before his mom had died, before Noctis had gotten hurt, and before he and his dad had been forced into this place. Those, it seemed, were the ones that had gathered Prompto's attention. In particular, one of a very young Noctis with a very young Gladio and a very young Ignis, playing on a playground back in Insomnia. Prompto managed a tiny smile at those.

"You like pictures?" Noctis asked.

He knew that Prompto had come back here to talk to him and swap sob stories, but there was no reason that he couldn't find out a little bit more about the mystery boy, too. He'd mentioned a camera, so he probably had _some_ level of enjoyment of photography and pictures. Still, to find himself so amused by a simple picture of a kid Noctis with his friends? He _had_ to like the art itself.

Prompto nodded. "I was taking pictures since before I can remember. When I was a kid, when I lived in Lestallum, I..." he paused, glancing down at the floor and then back up at Noctis, "I found an old camera in the attic. My foster dad said that he was gonna throw it out, but I asked if I could keep it."

Smiling softly, Noctis asked, "and he let you?"

But Prompto shook his head no. "He threw it out anyway," he admitted. "But I walked down to the trash bins the morning before the truck came, rooted through them, and took it out. It didn't work too well... sometimes the pictures were too dark, and sometimes they were overexposed, but it was the best I had until high school when I got a part time job and bought my own." That brought a tiny smile to Prompto's face.

Noctis watched him, the curl of his lips when he smiled and the tiny little shimmer in his eyes, and decided that he was even more beautiful like this. Smiling. Not frowning and hiding like he'd been from Izunia earlier.

"This your mom?" Prompto asked tentatively, pointing to another old picture.

He stood from the chair, walking up behind Prompto and glancing at the picture in question. Noctis was a baby, and his mother was holding him in an old rocking chair that he remembered from his parents' bedroom back in Insomnia. He nodded. "Right after I was born. M-my dad always used to tell me that he'd never seen her as happy as she was when she was... y'know... holding me." After another couple of seconds looking at the picture, he turned and looked away, down at the floor of his caravan.

Prompto glanced at him apologetically. "I shouldn't have-"

"It's okay," Noctis murmured. "I mean... it sucks, but... there's nothing I can do, really, you know? She's dead, and he's..." A vegetable, who was dying. Once again, Noctis wondered why he'd let Prompto talk him into coming back here.

Shaking that off, Noctis turned back around and gathered Prompto's coffee cup from the counter. "Here," he offered it out to Prompto, who was regarding him with concern. "You're probably cold, right? Being out there in the rain like that..." He managed another weak smile, not really genuine, but Prompto was putting forth the effort, so he could too.

As Prompto accepted the coffee, he smiled up at Noctis. "Thanks," he said again.

Noctis shrugged, stepping away from Prompto and gesturing toward the counter and the fridge. "Sugar's on the counter and creamer or milk are in the fridge. I'm not sure if the milk's any good. I haven't checked in a couple days. But the creamer's fine. I just used it." He sat back down in the chair, pulling in a very slow and deep breath through his nose.

Silence covered the room, other than the sound of Prompto pouring creamer into his coffee, and all Noctis could do was stare down at the table at his own cup. His dad's cup. Turning to glance at Prompto, who was turning around and looking for a place to sit, Noctis puffed his breath out and looked up at him when he turned back around, and then gestured to the bed. "You can sit there, if you want. That's why I'm sitting here."

It looked like Prompto was flat out surprised by something, though Noctis had no clue what. Still, he moved to the bed, glancing down at Noctis' rumpled sheets and blankets, and then sat down. Crossing his legs at the ankle and butterflying them out, he glanced back at Noctis nervously.

They were supposed to be talking. Why wasn't Prompto starting? Out of nowhere, his questions vanished from his mind, finding themselves replaced instead with a wave of anxiety almost out of nowhere. This wasn't like the anxiety that Noctis was used to feeling. This was more like... real anxiety. What was Prompto thinking? Why was he looking around at Noctis' caravan like it was some kind of interesting place? It was literally just where he slept. Sure, there were pictures on the walls and there were some little trinkets that had to do with his life before he was dragged into this place, but those were hardly worth being interested in. He wasn't that person anymore. That person was a kid, after all.

"I'm-"

"What-"

The pair of them both spoke at the exact same time, and Noctis met Prompto's eyes for a second, the tiniest grin coming to his face at how the other boy seemed surprised by the second voice coming out when he spoke. Noctis urged Prompto to go first with a lift of his chin and a gesture with his forehead. "Go ahead. I didn't mean to, y'know... interrupt."

Prompto shook his head no. "You didn't," he said with a tiny, shy smile. "I was just going to say... I'm really interested in those old pictures of you and the other kids. They're the other people who work here, right?" He pointed at a picture right next to the bathroom door, of Noctis with Ignis and Gladio, while Iris ran around and played in the background. Pulling his coffee to his lips, he took a slow sip and then glanced back at the picture.

With a nod, Noctis stood from the table and plucked the picture off the wall, bringing it across the room and offering it out to Prompto. "Yeah. We grew up together. Gladio and Iris... their dad came here at the same time as mine did. Ignis' family sold him here to avoid being brought here themselves at around the same time." A scowl turned Noctis' face downward. Ignis' family... Noctis had always hated them. He'd always had some sort of sneaking suspicion that they had to do with what happened to his mother the day that she died, and they'd never really treated Ignis like family was _supposed_ to.

"It must be nice, though. Having people here that you know you can trust."

Noctis shrugged and shook his head no. "I mean... it is. I don't mean to say that it's not good, you know? Having my friends here? But... they're _here_. They're not back at home in Insomnia. If I could trade my position for theirs... if I could somehow find a way to let them go and take their punishments myself, I mean... I'd do it." That wasn't possible, though. A person only had one soul, so it wasn't like he could just... trade a dozen souls for all of the people he wanted free.

Glancing from the picture, back up to Noctis, Prompto sighed sadly. "I keep hearing about this punishment. Does anyone actually know what it is?" he asked.

How did Noctis even answer that? _Yeah, but not really. We think he might take your soul._ Yeah, that would go over well. He supposed that it was something that they thought was _true_ , and preparing Prompto for that would probably be good. Just in case he ever wanted to try and escape. It would be a shame for him to lose his soul. A kind soul. Someone who, for no real reason, had tried to save Noctis' life.

So, with that in mind, Noctis sighed and answered. "It's rumored that he's a Super with the ability to steal souls," he explained. "And that's... that's what happens when you try to escape."

Sapphire blue eyes went wide with horror, then blinked twice as Prompto tried to wrap his mind around what Noctis was saying. "Souls? He has the power to... steal souls?" Placing a hand on his chest, like that was the location of the soul, Prompto glanced down at his coffee cup. "But no one knows for sure..." he murmured.

"No. We're pretty sure, but anytime anyone asks him what his power is... well... it doesn't..." Noctis shook his head no. "He doesn't like it." That was the simplest way to put what happened.

Prompto's eyes were still wide as he glanced down at the coffee cup in his hands. With a huff of humorless laughter, Prompto shook his head. "I was almost better off before..." he murmured.

Was that an opening? Noctis thought that maybe it was. They'd come here to talk; to swap 'sob stories,' that was what Prompto had told him back on the ledge. So, was that Prompto's way of leaving an opening for Noctis to ask? He breathed a nervous breath, trying to push out against the feeling of anxiety that was pushing down on his chest. "Where were you?" he asked, then bit down hard on his lower lip at how stupid it had sounded. "B-before here, I mean. When he... y'know. Found you."

The speed with which Prompto turned his head back to look at Noctis was almost astounding, but he blinked a couple of times, then swallowed nervously. "I was, um... in Ghovoras. I dunno if you know where it is. It's a few malms away from here. The nearest real town." He pointed off to the south, and then turned to look back down at his coffee.

That was when the toaster oven dinged, so Noctis abandoned his coffee cup on his small kitchen table and walked up to the toaster oven, turning it off, gathering two plates, and taking the small pizza for one out. "Looking for work, right?" Noctis asked as he closed the dryer. That was what Izunia had said, anyway.

Prompto seemed to freeze, and he refused to meet Noctis' eye. The anxiety that Noctis had been feeling quickly changed to shame, and part of him wondered what that was about. The shame was deep down, like everything that he'd done so far that night—the ledge, the breakdown in his booth, everything—was compounding down on him all at once and making him want to hide his face. He fought it as best he could, cutting the pizza into eight very small slices and putting them on two plates. When he handed Prompto's to him, he couldn't help but avoid the other boy's gaze, the shame keeping him from being able to confidently return it.

When he finally _did_ look, though, he saw Prompto staring down at the plate in surprise, and then back up at Noctis. "For me?" he asked.

Noctis looked away again, but nodded his head yes. "Figured you were still hungry."

"Th-thank you," Prompto murmured in a soft voice; an undertone that Noctis could barely hear, setting his coffee cup on the nearby counter.

With a shrug, Noctis took his own plate back to his chair and sat down, preparing to eat. The shame had dissipated, replaced instead with a bit of surprise. "So, according to Izunia, you were looking for work. Next to a coffee shop?" he asked, as he picked up a slice of the almost-cardboard pizza. It didn't matter. It was food and it wasn't a vegetable, so Noctis was more than willing to eat it.

Silence was Prompto's only response, and when Noctis looked back over at him, he was nodding a miserable nod. "Yeah. Work as in..." He paused, trailing off, and staring at his pizza now, instead of his coffee. "Noctis, I wasn't... I wasn't looking for work in the coffee shop or anything. I..." He raised his head, breathing a shaky breath, then tried to speak a couple more times. All that happened, really, was an open, then a close of his mouth. Twice. He swallowed thickly.

"You don't have to tell me anything."

Prompto flicked his eyes back up to meet Noctis' again, sparkling eyes wide with surprise. "No. No, I... I do. It's either you hear it from me, or Mr. Izunia tries to drop it on you like he's trying to help you."

Thinking back to earlier that day, and the way that Izunia had done exactly that when telling Noctis about his father, Noctis managed a humorless laugh and a nod when he took a bite of his pizza. "He's... good at that," he murmured. "But you really don't have to tell me anything. You saved my life. So... I don't think there's anything he could say that could make me not, y'know, think of you like that." Even if Noctis wasn't sure whether or not saving his life was a good thing or not yet.

Still, Prompto didn't look up from his pizza. He hadn't even picked any of it up, didn't even really look like he was _interested_ in it. He shrugged his shoulders. "Don't... don't make promises you can't keep." His voice was a whisper, and he finally raised his head to look up at Noctis.

Noctis shook his head. "I don't, actually," he reassured Prompto.

"Really? So, you'd still be cool with being around me if you found out I was a... if I... if I had sex for money? Or something?" Prompto looked Noctis dead in the eye, and though he was acting like he was just throwing out a random scenario, the way he looked Noctis square in the eye, and the way that he _tried_ to keep his expression level, told Noctis how serious he was actually being.

Still, did it really matter to Noctis what he'd done? He was here now. They were both in the same boat, and Prompto had just saved his life. Maybe, in the pit of his stomach, and with the way Prompto seemed to be just as broken and as fragile as he was, he was starting to see that it might not have been so bad, having his life saved. He still wasn't _totally_ sure; he still didn't know if he could live the rest of his life like this or anything. If he could help Prompto, though... if there was _any_ way that he could pay Prompto back for saving his life like that, then maybe that was something worth living for.

So, Noctis nodded. "Yeah. Of course I would. I'm sure you didn't do it because you _liked_ it, but even if you did, that doesn't take away from the person you are. S-so..." he shrugged a shoulder. "I'd still be cool with being around you."

The way Prompto was staring, wide-eyed, back at him was... well, surprised, for one. For two, he looked like it was the first time he'd ever heard something like that. He stared at Noctis like he thought that maybe Noctis would take the words back, would call him names or make fun of him or _something_ like that. When Noctis didn't, Prompto just blinked, kept his eyes locked with Noctis, and then said, "so... you're still cool? Being around me?"

"What kind of person would I be if I like... tried to tell off the person who saved my life, just because of some stuff he did in the past? I may not know you, but... I can usually tell a good person from a bad person. You're... you're a good person."

Noctis honestly had no idea why he was so willing to make a rush judgement about someone he'd just met. Maybe, like he said, it was the fact that he'd been so willing to put himself out there when Noctis was on the ledge a few minutes ago. Or, maybe it was because no one—absolutely no one—who had eyes like that could be a bad person. His expression was kind, even if he looked like the world had kicked him around, and Noctis just... couldn't see him being a bad person.

Prompto was still staring, wide-eyed, at Noctis, like he was completely and totally stunned by what he was hearing. A deep pink flush rushed its way across his face, and he glanced back down at the plate in front of him. He stared at it for a few more seconds, before finally picking up his pizza and taking a bite. Silence filled the room, as the pair of them ate a few bites, and then Prompto finally broke it.

His eyes were on Noctis, and he muttered, "what about you?"

"Huh?" Noctis asked, glancing back up at Prompto nervously.

Swallowing again—a nervous swallow, more than likely, since he'd swallowed his pizza beforehand—Prompto asked, "where were you? Before you got here, I mean? Did you... was there a reason that Mr. Izunia chose you?"

Noctis frowned, and then shrugged his head to the side. "Yeah. I mean... not me personally, but my dad. My dad's got enhanced strength. He wanted my dad to be the carnival's strongman, and my dad... he was in trouble, trying to pay some medical bills from an accident that killed my mom and hurt me when I was a kid. Izunia offered to... to take care of them, in exchange for my father and I coming to work for him. And... my dad was desperate enough to do it." With a frown, Noctis breathed in deeply and then exhaled sharply. "Izunia's always reminding me that it's because of me that he's here. Or... was here. That he's there now."

"That doesn't... no. That doesn't sound like it's your fault," Prompto shook his head no.

Shaking his head, Noctis sighed. "No. No, it is. It's like... my dad would've done anything to keep me alive, you know? I probably should've been dead back when the accident happened, but he took me to a doctor all the way in Tenebrae, who charged him pretty much everything we had for the surgery to keep me alive. My Uncle Clarus always told him that it was way more than it should have been." He didn't know anything about things like that, but he knew that they hadn't been poor when Noctis was little. Nothing should have been enough to have forced them into Izunia's service, but apparently Noctis' surgery had been.

Prompto finished a slice of the small pizza and put the plate on the counter, replacing it with his coffee. For a few seconds, he was quiet, contemplative, as he took a few drinks from the coffee cup and then rested the cup in his lap. "You know," he mused, "who's to say Mr. Izunia is even telling you the truth about your dad?"

At first, Noctis just blinked at him, his eyebrows furrowing in disbelief as he tried to reason out what Prompto meant by that. When nothing came to him, he decided to just ask outright. "I mean, he's not usually the most _honest_ person out there, but... he's the only real, like... link I've got to know how my dad is doing in the sanitarium, so..." So, what choice did he have but to believe it.

Shrugging, Prompto met Noctis' eye steadily again. "Right. He's the _only_ link you have. So, what's to stop him from giving you, y'know, bogus information just to screw with you? You said yourself that he's not the most honest person. Kinda wish I'd known that before I signed the contract, but... at least I do now," he murmured under his breath.

"I wanted to warn you," Noctis muttered. "I was... that's what I was trying to do. When he brought you to my booth? I was going to tell you to run. To leave." Damn the consequences. Izunia would have been mad, but it would have been worth it to save someone else from this place. "He got there before I could pick the lock, though. I... I wanted to. I'm sorry that I-"

Prompto shook his head no. "Don't be sorry," he murmured quietly, though Noctis could tell by his impression that he felt a little bit of regret on his own.

With a shake of his head, Noctis insisted. "No. I should be. I couldn't... I could've pulled it together when Izunia had you in front of me, but I... I couldn't, because..."

Because of the news that Izunia had thrown out there about his dad. That was what made it all click into place in Noctis' head. Izunia's timing was convenient. He'd seen Noctis trying to leave through the back door of his booth. Whether he was just trying to punish Noctis for thinking about leaving, or whether somehow, he _knew_ that Noctis was going to warn Prompto... that was why he'd told Noctis about his dad. And with no way to confirm—with no way to just walk out of the park and check for himself, Noctis had no choice whatsoever but to accept Izunia's word as fact. What if Prompto was right? What if he _was_ lying?

The thought simultaneously broke his heart more and mended it a tiny bit. "Maybe he _was_ lying..."

"Hey." Prompto was on his feet and in front of Noctis, placing a hand on his shoulder now. "It's a good thing. Right? That it might not be true?"

It was, but it also wasn't. If it was true, and he went on thinking that maybe it _wasn't_ , then there was a chance that he would let himself be lulled into a false sense of security and maybe his dad _would_ die without him knowing it. If it _wasn't_ true, though... his dad may have been alive out there. Maybe there was still hope. Maybe... maybe everyone here could still be saved. Part of him was absolutely desperately grasping for some semblance of hope, and that part was what drew his eyes to Prompto's with an uncertain nod of his head. It was good that it might not be true.

Prompto's eyes softened as they met Noctis' and he reached a hand down to urge Noctis up from his chair. "Let yourself have some hope, okay? Let yourself feel good for a little while. You deserve it," he pointed out.

With a confused blink, Noctis let Prompto help him up from his chair and turn their positions around so that Noctis had his back facing his bed. Prompto's eyes examined him him closely, trailing from his eyes, down to his neck, then his chest. While Noctis was still trying to figure out exactly what was going on, Prompto leaned forward, ducked his head down, and pressed his lips to Noctis' neck, backing him up until his knees crashed into his bed and he fell down against it.

"Wh-what are-"

Hands, warm from touching the coffee cup, reached underneath the hem of Noctis' shirt and ran along his stomach, while a pair of impossibly soft lips still kissed his neck. "Like I said," Prompto replied. "Let yourself feel good for awhile. Okay? Let me help you feel good."

Noctis would be lying if he said that it didn't feel good. Really good. _Amazing_ , actually. Even more so when Prompto dipped his thumbs down below the waistline of Noctis' pajamas and teased at the sensitive part of his abdomen.

In a spur of the moment reaction, he reached a hand out and placed it on Prompto's chin, turning Prompto's head toward his own and trying to _actually_ kiss him. If this was going to happen, if Prompto wanted it to happen—which he _definitely_ seemed to—Noctis wanted to kiss him, too. It was spontaneous, and it was probably a pretty big mistake, but Noctis would be damned if it _didn't_ feel good. It had been awhile since anyone had touched him like this. A couple of years, at least. Prompto's hands were warm and his lips were soft, and his weight felt good on top of Noctis. Especially the way that he ground his hips down into Noctis' right then.

When Noctis tried to kiss him, though, he turned his head away and shook it. "I... I don't..." he whispered as he sat up straight, "I don't kiss on the lips."

That shocked Noctis back into reality. "W-wait... wait, what are you..." He propped himself up on his elbows, glancing up at Prompto where he straddled Noctis' hips and rocked his own against them. "You're... I... I'm not one of your..." His clients. That was what he was trying to say. But _hell_ if that didn't feel good.

"I know you're not," Prompto murmured. "You just... you deserve to feel good for a little while, Noctis. And I can make that happen."

Noctis shook his head no. "N-no. No," he refused. "I... you... _we_ shouldn't do this." Gently, he placed his hands on Prompto's hips and urged the other boy to his feet. "Not because... not because it didn't feel good. It did. It would have, I'm sure, if it had happened. B-but... but you're, you're more than that. You know? You're more than what you were out there. You're... you don't have to do that to get me to like you, okay?"

Surprised didn't even begin to cover the expression on Prompto's face, as he blinked dumbly down at Noctis. "I wanted to help you..." he muttered, a dark tint of red rushing over his cheeks.

All Noctis could do was blink at that at first, as the washing machine went off in the background and told him that their clothes were ready to be swapped over. Noctis almost felt like _he_ could feel the embarrassment himself, but that probably had to do with the fact that he was acting like an idiot about this. People had casual sex all the time, didn't they? _Prompto_ had sex with people he'd never see again, all the time. Noctis, though, was being so stupid, and probably a little bit immature, about this, and Prompto probably thought he was an idiot or something.

Still, pushing it back as he pushed himself to his feet and moved toward the small washer and dryer, Noctis explained, "you _did_ help me. You saved my life, remember?" in a gentle tone to Prompto. "You came back here with me. You talked to me. You listened to me and you _actually_ made me realize that my dad... he might not be dying. My dad might not be dying, and I actually might have a reason to _hope_ again, because you..." He turned around once the clothes were in the dryer, "because you saved my life. You don't owe me anything, and you _definitely_ don't have to do that for me, okay? Not just because you want to help me or make me feel good..."

Prompto was just staring at him, surprise and a little bit of confusion etched through his features.

Sympathy coursed its way through Noctis' veins, alongside a little bit of surprise and confusion of his own. Of course, Prompto would feel like he had to do that for Noctis. People had been treating him like that for how long? Noctis didn't even know. Pushing out against his own nervousness, Noctis stepped forward and gently, loosely, wrapped his arms around Prompto's shoulders to pull him in for a hug. For a couple of seconds, Prompto tensed completely, before relaxing into the hug and leaning just slightly against Noctis.

"You made me feel better already. Okay?" Noctis murmured into his hair. "You don't have to do that..."

Prompto's body trembled a little bit in Noctis' arms, and Noctis hugged him a little bit tighter. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to..." he murmured, his voice shaky as he leaned against Noctis' shoulder.

With a shake of his head, Noctis murmured, "don't be sorry, okay? Let's... do you want to talk for a little while, while our laundry finishes? Finish your food and your coffee?"

At first, he was afraid that Prompto would say no. The way he went silent, just stayed frozen against Noctis' shoulder, Noctis was pretty sure that he would. He was surprised, though, when Prompto just nodded his head, wrapped his arms loosely around Noctis, too, and then pushed out of the embrace, returning to his spot on the bed. As he wiped his eyes with the heel of his palm, he swallowed thickly and murmured, "dunno what we're gonna talk about after I just tried to stick my hand down your pants..." at his own expense.

Red rushed to Noctis' cheeks. "I mean... there's... there's um... a lot I don't know about you. I know almost _nothing_ , actually. Like I said. There's more to you than... y'know, that." Than his old job. "Tell me?"

In spite of the fact that he still looked embarrassed, Prompto managed a tiny smile when Noctis said that. Noctis sat in the chair, adjusting his pants just slightly to hide the fact that he really _had_ liked what Prompto was trying to do. Then, he turned his head toward Prompto—toward his new friend, maybe?—and waited to learn just a tiny bit more about him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope you guys are enjoying reading this as much as I'm enjoying writing it. ❤❤❤
> 
> Feedback, as always, is appreciated.


	4. Savior

_i just want to run to you, and break off the chains, and throw them away._  
_i just want to be so much, and shake off the dust that turned me to rust._  
_sooner than later, i'll need a savior; i'll need a saviour._  
[savior](https://open.spotify.com/track/02QtLnNHXL99mcpq9uPLLu) ;; lights

_You made me feel better already, okay? You don't need to do that._

Every time Prompto had a free moment the next day, that was all he could think about. It would have been so easy for Noctis to just... take the offer. Prompto wouldn't have even minded that much, because Noctis was so different from his usual clientele. He hadn't, though. He hadn't, because he said that Prompto was 'more than that.' As sunset neared on Prompto's first day in his booth, it was still circling around in his mind like some kind of mental tornado. It was... really weird. Not bad, just weird. Most people he'd known in his life wouldn't have turned something like that down.

At first, Prompto had felt pretty terrible about the whole situation. Really terrible, honestly. Humiliated, and really, really stupid for just throwing himself at Noctis like that. Noctis hadn't let that last long, though. After a few minutes of awkward silence, they'd started talking again like nothing had happened. When he'd said talk, he'd really meant... just talk. A couple of times, he'd seen Noctis look at him and blush a little bit, but other than that, everything seemed to have been scattered to the wind and forgotten. They'd talked until the wee hours of the morning. Neither of them had really said too much more about their pasts. At least not the part that had brought them here. But they _had_ talked about silly stories and funny memories that they had. Some of their hobbies, too. Noctis apparently liked to draw, and he liked to sing, too. Prompto had promised to show Noctis some of his photos sometime, and the pair of them had watched a movie on Noctis' laptop.

It was then that Prompto realized that he'd almost forgotten what it felt like to have a friend.

When Prompto looked at Noctis' alarm clock on his way out of Noctis' caravan and back to his own, he'd seen a three at the start of the time. He wasn't sure what the rest of the numbers were, but that was okay. Three in the morning, when he needed to be up at six thirty to get to his booth and start working... it hadn't made the day easy. Still... Prompto wouldn't have changed it for the world.

It helped, too, that his job was pretty easy, all things considered. Most of the people who came to the carnival came to him for therapy under the guise of psychic help. Strange, but easier to accomplish than being a psychic when all he could do was read emotions. He would pick up on a customer's emotion, try his best to apply it to a normal life situation, let them confirm or deny if he was right, and then help them, whatever answer they came to.

The only time he'd been even _relatively_ taken aback was when a customer had tried to get a little bit... physical. Prompto had put on the act that Mr. Izunia— _"call me Ardyn, dear boy,"_ the man had said, but Prompto still refused—had ordered him to; act like he was reading their mind or something, and make it some kind of show. While he was acting like he was focused, while he was zeroing in on 'reading the man's mind and energy,' that was when it happened. The man reached out, taking Prompto's hand and disguising it as some kind of 'spiritual assistance' or something. Before long, though, it went from that to running his fingers slowly and tenderly up Prompto's arm.

It wasn't like it was _unfamiliar_ territory to him, but... he really hadn't been expecting to be touched like that, so he ended up jumping, breaking his immersion into the act, and jerking his arm out of the man's grasp. _"Please do not touch me while I'm reading,"_ Prompto had said, trying to sound authoritarian, but when he spoke, his voice just sounded nervous. Worried. Scared. It was obvious that the guy had picked up on it, because he'd made some comment about throwing Prompto off his game, and that he'd come back another day.

By the Six, did Prompto hope that he'd forget.

Prompto glanced at the clock on the wall of his booth. Mr. Izunia had said that he'd come by when Prompto's shift was over to unlock the door. He remembered seeing Noctis' door locked, too. So, he figured that it was common for all of Mr. Izunia's employees to have locked doors like this. It just... didn't feel right. Now, Prompto _really_ understood all of the feelings of being trapped that he'd gotten the day before. It was only one day, and he was already sort of feeling it. For someone who had been here as long as Noctis had? Prompto couldn't even imagine how it felt.

The night prior, Noctis had told him about several other people, too, and their circumstances for ending up here. All of them had been in some sort of misfortune. The fortune teller, a friend of Noctis' named Lunafreya, had been ill. Mr. Izunia had brought her here under the guise of introducing her to a healer. He had, of course, introduced her to a healer. However, the cost of the bill was her service. For her to sign a contract. Nyx and Crowe, the fire conjurers, were like siblings, from what Noctis had told him. They'd come together, after someone had set fire to their homeland. Mr. Izunia had lured them here with the promise of a new home. They'd been fooled into signing the contracts, too. Noctis' dearest childhood friends, the Amicitia siblings and Ignis Scientia, had all been dragged along by their families.

According to Noctis, Ignis' uncle was the only person to ever have tried and _succeeded_ in escaping. And he'd willingly sold Ignis to Mr. Izunia. Prompto hadn't even been here for that long, and even he was suspicious of that.

Gladio and Iris Amicitia's story was somewhat similar to Noctis'. Their father was in an unfortunate circumstance; he'd fallen prey to a rather harsh gambling addiction that had ended him in absolute poverty. Mr Izunia, like he had with everyone else, had offered him a place to rest his head, square meals for his children, and safe haven from any sort of enemies he may have made with his gambling problem. Just like with Noctis' dad, Mr. Amicitia was in the sanitarium, after some odd illness had rendered him completely unresponsive. Prompto had questions about that, but according to Noctis, so did everyone else. His new friend had told him that it likely had to do with the soul stealing ability that Mr. Izunia had.

Out of nowhere, an odd sensation of emotion washed over Prompto. A strange feeling that he'd only ever felt once, back when Mr. Izunia had approached him in the alley behind the coffee shop. Back when Mr. Izunia had put his hands and his mouth all over Prompto's body. Prompto had felt many things in his lifetime. Emotions that he'd had to think up adjectives to describe, or even things that he couldn't describe to this day. This, though, was something that he only felt when Mr. Izunia was around. Prompto wasn't certain if ownership was an emotion. In fact, he was pretty sure that it wasn't. What he felt coming from Mr. Izunia, though? It couldn't be described as anything else.

Prompto felt it in the alley, even before he had agreed to turn with Mr. Izunia, the wave of ownership that came over him from the man was astounding. It had happened when Mr. Izunia had introduced Prompto and Noctis, too. Especially when he tightened his hold on Prompto's waist and pulled him closer after Noctis and Prompto had shared their first glance. Like he was claiming ownership; making sure that Noctis understood his place.

Truth be told, Prompto would have rather been owned by Noctis any day. At least Noctis was kind. The thought of his new friend brought an odd—but pleasant—rush of butterflies to his stomach, but he chased the feeling away before it had time to take root. Except he wished that he hadn't, because it was rapidly replaced with that ownership feeling again. Mr. Izunia was close. Prompto looked around his booth nervously. No way out.

That was, until Mr. Izunia unlocked the door and opened it. Prompto was glad for his first day to be over.

Before he could get anywhere, though, Mr. Izunia leaned against the door frame, blocking Prompto's exit and smiling a lascivious smile. "How was your first day, dear boy?"

"I-it was fine…" Prompto murmured.

With a glib little laugh, Mr. Izunia nodded his head and then tilted it, amused. "Excellent. I knew that I was right to choose you for the job. Empaths, I find, are quite skilled at the theatrics that come along with being a carnival psychic. Now, you'll be joining me for dinner tonight, my pet. Come along. We mustn't tarry. I would imagine that you're hungry," he stated, reaching out and taking Prompto's shoulder before he had a chance to protest.

And he would have protested, too. Nothing was set in stone, but he and Noctis had made vague plans to go and meet up with the rest of the staff after the park was closed, for something of a mini-party. It was something, Noctis had explained, that they did on Sunday nights, before the carnival moved on to a new place, and because they had Mondays off to sleep off any hangovers. From what Noctis had told him, Iris, Crowe, and Luna had started the tradition a few years ago to keep their spirits up when things were particularly hard and just to make sure that everyone was still in one piece at the end of a normal week. He'd been excited about it. Not just because it was a chance to spend more time with Noctis, but because it was a chance for him to get to know his fellow captives a little bit better. In a rush of command, Mr. Izunia had taken that away from him.

Prompto frowned, turning his eyes toward Iris' booth, and glanced down at the grass. "I… I was-"

Mr. Izunia hummed, then turned to look at Iris' booth, too, as he slid his hand down to rest on Prompto's waist again. "Ah. The insipid party that my pets like to throw. Yes, I suppose you would want to go to that. Worry not, dear boy. Dinner will be done far before their shifts end. I merely wanted some more detail as to how your first day went." The smile on his face was not friendly in the slightest. In fact, it was downright terrifying.

Just like the one he'd given in the alley that night.

When Prompto passed Noctis' booth, his new friend looked up from where he stood in the middle of the room, dealing with a couple of customers, to where Prompto was being tugged around the park again. Just like yesterday. And just like yesterday, Prompto watched as he faltered, looking like he wanted to rush from his booth to save Prompto from Mr. Izunia. Prompto would have welcomed it. Every time the man touched him, his skin felt like it was crawling.

As Prompto looked over his shoulder toward Noctis' booth, Mr. Izunia spoke up again. "I noticed quite the commotion last night on my cameras between you and Master Caelum by the ocean." With a dramatic and obviously fake pout, he glanced toward Noctis' booth. "I do hope the poor boy is okay. I can't imagine feeling sane with the knowledge that one's father is doomed to die a tragic and lonely death."

Prompto wanted to say something. Desperately, he wanted to point out that they had absolutely no reason to believe that what Mr. Izunia was telling them was true. He didn't though. It was equal parts fear, and not wanting to throw Noctis and his sadness under the bus to give Mr. Izunia more to work with. Noctis had showed him more kindness in one night than anyone had for years, so... Prompto was feeling a little bit protective. He turned his head back away from Noctis' booth, and stared in front of him instead, rather than looking at Mr. Izunia and letting him know how concerned Prompto was for his new friend.

"He's fine," Prompto said instead. Not exactly true, because Prompto was pretty sure that the vague happiness that he felt radiating from Noctis when he left his friend's cabin the night before was very tentative. It probably wouldn't take much to make it come crashing down.

Mr. Izunia shrugged his pouted lip and nodded his head, the slick smile on his face growing a little bit more. "Yes, of course, dear boy. He has too much of his father in him to give up. Those Caelums are nothing if not resilient," he waved his hand dismissively in Noctis' direction. "And I'm certain that having an empath there to let him pretend that he was happy helped, too."

And with that, guilt cropped up. Maybe a little bit of doubt, too. Was that what Prompto had done? He'd never really told Noctis that he was an empath. It hadn't really come into their conversation at Noctis' caravan or anything, so he didn't really think that it was necessary—they hadn't even talked about _Noctis'_ ability, either. A night away from conversation like that was nice, anyway—and Noctis had never really asked. Maybe later, Prompto would tell him. Maybe he would mention that to be how he'd convinced Noctis to come back from the ledge. Just like his former occupation, it was better to get it out of the way himself, before Mr. Izunia had a chance to say it in an attempt to humiliate him.

"I didn't do much..." Prompto murmured, glancing back over his shoulder toward Noctis' booth again. "I don't think it's my right to discuss Noctis' feelings, either. O-or what he might be going through. I don't... I don't know him well. So..." It was a feeble attempt at bravery, and the worst thing about his empathy was that attempts to cover his true feelings like this always ended in failure. People could always feel it. Especially when they knew his ability.

That, he figured, was why Mr. Izunia hummed a soft note, nodded his head, and slowly tugged Prompto closer. "Such respect for a boy you hardly know. See? This is why I felt like you deserved better than that alleyway. You are far too kind to people you truly know nothing about. Before long, someone could have tried to take advantage, hm?"

Prompto frowned. _Like you?_ he thought, his eyes narrowing as he squirmed underneath the man's touch. It was way too intimate for just a hand to guide him across the park, and Prompto had already told the man that, no, he wasn't going to take that offer.

Mr. Izunia finally released him when they got to his office, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a massive key ring. Without the man's arm around him, it took all the strength that Prompto had into him not to turn and run away. He managed somehow, though, instead opting to wrap an arm around his chest and hope that Mr. Izunia didn't try to pull him close again. Hope, as always, proved useless, and Mr. Izunia placed a hand on the small of his back, guiding Prompto into the building.

Before he got inside, before Mr. Izunia closed the door behind him, Prompto could almost swear that he saw Noctis approaching from behind, sprinting in the distance. A part of him wanted to send out a stronger wave of warning, of fear or of repulse, to convince Noctis to run away. The rest of him, though, wanted to be the hell away from here, and wanted to know why Noctis was approaching. The latter won out when Prompto saw Mr. Izunia lock the door behind him.

"We don't want interruptions, do we?" Mr. Izunia cooed.

Prompto narrowed his eyes. "I already told you that I-"

But, Mr. Izunia chuckled and nodded. "I know, dear boy. Don't you worry. I've no intent to take what isn't mine," he insisted. "I merely assumed that you wouldn't want anyone to bother you while you ate." He shucked his coats, all three of them, revealing a white leisure suit.

Because of course he would wear a white leisure suit. He was the type. Prompto had to stifle laughter behind his hand, because _Gods_ did Mr. Izunia look ridiculous in that white leisure suit, with his gold chains dangling from his neck like they were. He looked the part of a movie villain. Like the villain in that dramatic spy movie that Prompto had been telling Noctis that he'd wanted to see the night prior.

Mr. Izunia regarded him with concern and suspicion for a couple of seconds, his eyes narrowing just slightly at the amused expression on Prompto's face. "Did I say something amusing, dear boy?" he asked.

Prompto jumped a little bit, then shook his head quickly, the feeling of amusement fading almost instantly into one of panic and fear. Of course, Mr. Izunia wasn't amused. "S-sorry. I was... I was just..." He was just what? What could he _possibly_ say that wasn't 'I was just laughing at your hideous fashion sense?' "I was j-just thinking about something that happened while Noctis and I were talking last night." Desperation. Probably obvious in the fact that it was a lie.

It was probably not the best choice, either, judging by the way that Mr. Izunia's eyes narrowed further and he scratched a hand along the stubble along his jawline. "Is that so?" he questioned through gritted teeth. "And what, exactly, did our clever young illusionist say that has you so enrapt that you're thinking about it _hours_ later, hm?"

Shit. Prompto swallowed thickly, turning his head to look at the window. Noctis had been sprinting in their direction, right? So... he was nearby. If something bad happened, Noctis would burst in and help him. Right? Prompto shrugged his head to the side, then turned to glance back at Mr. Izunia with a nervous—probably _very_ nervous—smile on his face. _Think, Prompto. Think about the things that you and Noctis talked about last night. He had you laughing a couple times, so..._ Once again, Mr. Izunia could definitely feel his nervousness. It was probably radiating off of him in waves, once again. But he wasn't saying anything. He stared, expectantly, at Prompto like he was waiting for him to come up with some kind of pathetic cover story.

"We were... we were um... watching a movie and there was this part where the hero and-"

In the middle of Prompto's story, a loud and echoing crash filled the room from outside. Prompto's eyes widened, and his head snapped toward the noise. A feeling of panic came from the same direction, then a feeling of rushed frenzy, and then it started fading into the distance and into the direction of Noctis' booth. Was it Noctis? What had he done?

Mr. Izunia seemed annoyed by the noise, as he narrowed his eyes and looked toward it with his brow furrowed. "What in Ifrit's Holy Flame was that?" he asked in annoyance. "You wait here, while I go and check on the noise."

Prompto simply blinked, too astounded by the noise to react, and watched as Mr. Izunia moved toward the door, leaving and locking it behind him. Prompto turned and pulled on the doorknob, huffing a frustrated sound when the door didn't open. Of course it didn't. He'd seen Mr. Izunia lock it, after all. He moved toward the window, glancing out it and watching Mr. Izunia breeze toward the side of the building that the noise had come from. Glancing back down the aisle of booths in front of the office, he spotted Noctis, poking his head from through the large open window in the front of his booth.

Whatever had happened... it had definitely been Noctis.

As he caught sight of Mr. Izunia hurrying back toward the door, he was washed over with a sense of _anger_ coming from the man. Anger and rage. It was almost enough to make him want to leave through the window, but before he got the chance, the door clicked and unlocked, and Mr. Izunia appeared back inside, the anger furrowing his brows together.

"It's rather unfortunate. It seems that my hot water heater has broken. Rather severely, actually. It's almost as though someone has cut right through the line that feeds to my office."

Prompto blinked quickly, turning his eyes toward where the direction the sound had come from. Noctis had... cut through his water heater? Then what was the crash? Was that just to get Mr. Izunia's attention after he'd done it? It didn't matter, because it had worked, and as long as there was no way for Noctis to get caught... Prompto owed him _big_. Well. As long as he managed to make his way out of the office. Just because the water heater was broken didn't mean that Mr. Izunia was going to let him go. He hoped so, but for a few moments, the man just paced in a small line, like he was turning something over in his mind.

Eventually, he turned toward Prompto, closing the distance between the two of them in a sweeping step. "It's a shame for you, too, because I had quite the lovely meal planned," he murmured, placing his hand on Prompto's bicep.

It took all of Prompto's strength not to cringe away from the touch. A battle that he lost when Mr. Izunia reached his other hand out and brushed the knuckle along Prompto's cheek. When Prompto cringed away, all he did was laugh a soft and gentle note in return, tilting his head and taking a subtle step backward. "Would you mind too terribly, dear boy, if we picked this up another day?"

Would he mind? Honestly, he would prefer not coming back here at all. He wanted to say as much, but he had a feeling that it wouldn't go over well, so he just shook his head once, a short and nervous gesture. "N-no. I... I wanted to go and get ready for the party, anyway, s-so..." It wasn't even close to what he wanted to say. He wanted to scream for Mr. Izunia to stay the hell away from him, not to touch him like that, but fear kept him from it.

The feeling only got worse, too, when Mr. Izunia looked him over with a wry smile on his face. "And please, take care not to forget the offer I made you, hm? Its benefits are great. You would live like a king, not have to stay in the caravans with the rest of the-"

"My answer is still no," Prompto answered, standing firm. "I'm... grateful... for you getting me off the street-" A lie, and a pretty obvious one, too- "and I'll work in the carnival to repay you for it, definitely. But I have no interest in that." Not from him. Maybe it was Noctis' words from the night prior, ringing in his mind and making him feel like maybe he _was_ more than just that. Or maybe it was just the fact that Mr. Izunia was _repulsive_ in every single way. That, though, was one thing that he would never back down from. He had no interest in the man, whatsoever.

It was kind of funny, how he'd been so willing to throw himself at Noctis, but just the _thought_ of being with Mr. Izunia like that again made his skin crawl... but that was how it was. Mr. Izunia seemed amused by it all, like he expected Prompto to crack someday. There was a vague hint of annoyance and a predatory wave rolling off of him and hitting Prompto's empathy sense, but Prompto did his best to ignore it. He needed to get out.

Mr. Izunia simply chuckled softly and tilted his hat, saying, "very well then. Perhaps the next time I ask you, you'll be more open. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some rather important business to attend to."

The next time he asked. Prompto knew that it was probably too optimistic to think that him saying no would _ever_ be the end of it. Mr. Izunia hadn't stricken him as the type of man willing to take no for an answer, ever. At the very least, he was stopping short of actually forcefully taking anything but... that didn't matter. He was still terrifying, even without forcefully taking anything. He took a step back, his back colliding with the door to Mr. Izunia's office. His hand groped for the door handle, and he made quick work of unlocking it, opening it, and sliding out. Maybe it would have been wise to make a break for his caravan to get changed for the party, but he didn't. Instead, he took off in a jog and ran down the line of booths, heading for Noctis'.

As he jogged, a shudder overtook his whole body. He wasn't sure why the man was so interested in him. Yes, Prompto had willingly given himself once. That was only because it was his job, though. Because he'd been hired. Mr. Izunia hadn't even paid him, had dragged him into servitude, and now he expected _more_. No. Prompto would never budge. No matter what.

Once Prompto arrived at Noctis' booth, he glanced up at his friend. He was, of course, inside, and dealing with a group of three small children who were arguing over which illusion they wanted him to take them to see. The consensus seemed to be between space and the old west, and Prompto spoke up from outside the booth, a gentle friendliness in his tone when he suggested, "what about underwater paradise?"

Noctis turned his head in surprise, blinking a couple of times at Prompto, taking a couple of seconds to recover, then turning back toward the kids. "Underwater paradise is pretty cool, actually," he told them.

Prompto could feel the wave of relief as it rushed from Noctis. Not that he'd really doubted it, but that pretty much confirmed that he'd been the one to help Prompto out of that jam. A soft, fluttering feeling bubbled up from the pit of his stomach again as he leaned against the wall of the booth and watched the children look between each other. Two of them just shrugged, and the third one nodded eagerly and said, "let's do it!"

Against his volition, Prompto felt a smile curling across his lips as one of the kids looked up at Noctis with eager eyes.

This was really strange. Really, really strange. Just seconds ago, Prompto had been terrified. Chilled down to the bone and wanting to hide away. Now that he was here, though... now that he was in Noctis' presence? He still felt that weird feeling that he'd felt around Mr. Izunia, sure, but almost completely shading it out was something different. A gentle warmth that started from his chest and worked its way throughout his whole body. It wasn't like the warmth he always felt from exertion when he was turning, or even the warmth of being under blankets to sleep or the warmth like in a shower... it was different.

It was more of an... emotional warmth than a physical warmth. Really, really weird, considering the fact that he'd only really known Noctis for one day, and the last time he remembered feeling anything even remotely similar to this had been when he was with Cindy or Loqi. People that he cared about.

Was it so outlandish to think that he cared about Noctis, though? The night prior, Prompto had seen the other boy at what Prompto could only assume to be his worst. Noctis had also seen him at a pretty low, pretty humiliated point. Neither of them had judged the other, and it almost felt like they'd cemented some sort of bond that night. So... no. It wasn't crazy. It made perfect sense. Complete and total sense. When Prompto peered up through a curtain of blond at Noctis and the three children, he noticed that one of the children had rushed up to him and was tugging him back to the counter.

"Come with us!" the boy commanded eagerly. "Since it was your idea!"

Noctis shrugged his head to the side. "Yeah. Why don't you come with us? You get to see the illusionist at work, and you didn't even have to _pay_ for it. That sounds like a good deal to me..." he murmured gently, a warm grin crossing his face.

More butterflies. Prompto swallowed a nervous lump that had formed in his throat, then glanced down at the boy in front of him and smiled. "Alright. Twist my arm why don't you, huh?" He lifted his free hand and ruffled the boy's hair, following behind him to stand in front of Noctis' booth.

The counter separated them, and as much as Prompto wanted to climb over it to get inside the booth, he didn't. He resisted. If he did, he'd probably have alerted the boys to something... _something_. Whatever the something _was_ that was happening whenever Prompto looked at Noctis. So, he just stood on the other side of the counter and leaned his hip against it.

"So, what do we have to do, Noctis?" Prompto asked.

Noctis held his two hands out, one to the three boys and the other to Prompto. "In order to take you there, I need all four of you to touch my hands. So... you three take this one. Prompto, you take this one. And then close your eyes." When Noctis glanced from the boys and then to Prompto, he quirked a nervous smile.

It was a smile that Prompto returned in kind. He clamped down on his lower lip, glancing down at Noctis' hand, staring in embarrassment until one of the boys tugged on his pant leg. He jerked his head toward the boy, and red flooded his cheeks. A part of him wondered how much the boys were picking up on. How much _Noctis_ was picking up on.

"He said you gotta touch his hand," the boy reminded Prompto.

Prompto chuckled softly. "R-right. Um... sorry about that." It was just a touch of the hand. Not a big deal at all. Prompto reached his hand up and placed it on top of Noctis', then forced his eyes up to meet with Noctis' too.

With a tiny, shy smile, Noctis said, "now close your eyes."

That too. Right. Prompto pushed out a little breath, nodded, then closed his eyes. Another show of trust, and a huge one at that. A part of him couldn't help but think of all the romantic comedies that he'd always watched with Loqi and Cindy when he was a teenager.

Trust, mixed with an odd amount of affection for someone he _really_ didn't know too well. The only difference here was that this particular feeling was swirled around with a healthy dollop of bashful feelings every time Noctis would smile at him or look him in the eye. Funny how he felt that way even _after_ Noctis had turned him down the night before.

Noctis' voice telling him to "open your eyes," dragged him out of his thought process.

And he did. When he opened his eyes, though, he was taken _completely_ by surprise by what he saw. It looked like they were underwater. Completely underwater, submerged and swimming. Prompto could almost _feel_ the water as it cooled his skin and when he looked at Noctis, his friend's wild hair was floating up and around his head in an adorable mess. The boys, too, had floating hair, and were kicking their legs to keep afloat in the underwater scape around them. Prompto thought that maybe he'd have to gasp for air, but he could still breathe. There was no breathless feeling that came with drowning or _anything_ like that.

"You can talk too, it's okay," Noctis told them. His friend's voice sounded like it was coming from underwater. There was a slight echo, and it sounded like it was coming from slightly further away than it really was, but Prompto had definitely seen him talk. And he wasn't gasping for air.

Prompto breathed in. Water filled his lungs but he didn't feel like he was drowning. It was almost the illusion had replaced his lungs with gills, too. This was... the most incredible thing he'd ever seen in his life. He turned to glance at the boys, who seemed to have completely forgotten Noctis and Prompto's presence and were swimming around the water like they weren't completely and totally amazed by everything they were seeing.

Turning to glance back at Noctis, who was watching him with appraising and slightly nervous eyes, Prompto blinked a couple of times. "This is... how are you... this feels so real!" he finally managed to struggle out, his eyes wandering Noctis and searching for some sort of holographic projector or something. Any way that he might have been pulling this off.

Noctis, after glancing up at the kids and then back down to Prompto, raked his teeth over his lip nervously and muttered, "can I tell you later? A-at the party? We're not supposed to talk about... you know. This. Here."

This. Prompto didn't know what 'this' meant, but if it was something that they weren't supposed to do, then he didn't want to make Noctis do it. Instead, he just nodded and kicked his feet gently, heading toward the surface. It wasn't until he felt a slight tug against his arm when he realized that... he still hadn't let Noctis' hand go. Even underwater, heat flooded his cheeks—and then the rest of him—and he moved as quickly as he could, releasing Noctis' hand and trying to hide his face. "I-I'm sorry, I-"

With a shake of his head, Noctis kicked his feet, too, until he was level with Prompto in the water. "It's okay. Do you want to swim around, or...?" There was something shy on his face. Something gentle. Something that took Prompto _completely_ off guard.

It definitely didn't make the pink in his cheeks fade at all, either. With a nod, Prompto followed Noctis' lead as he swam over to meet with the kids. Except, as soon as they reached their destination, an outside voice completely snapped the scene that Noctis had created and dragged all five of them back into reality.

"Now, now, Master Caelum," Mr. Izunia spoke from the other side of the booth, standing and leaning against the door frame, much like he'd done with Prompto earlier. "We don't want to give these boys more than their money's worth, right?" He walked through the booth, stopping beside Noctis and then turning to glance at the boys. "Why don't you boys run along, hm? Find your parents. The park is about to close. You don't want to get left behind, do you?"

The boys nodded, unfazed by the way that Mr. Izunia was glancing from them, to Prompto, to Noctis, and then back to them. The look on his face was angry for a moment when he glanced at Noctis, but then when he looked back at the boys, the curtain of friendliness was right back in place.

As the boys eagerly thanked Noctis for the illusion and told him that they'd be back the next time the carnival was in Niflheim, Mr. Izunia's attention turned to Noctis fully. All pretenses of pleasantries were completely dropped now, and his eyes narrowed. "You two have become thick as thieves pretty much overnight, haven't you?" he asked, a fake calm in his tone.

Noctis didn't really look as intimidated as Mr. Izunia probably wanted him to. He simply shrugged a shoulder. "It's never been illegal to be friendly with the other employees before," he pointed out.

Mr. Izunia simply hummed a soft laugh. "I suppose not, and that's hardly what I was implying, Master Caelum. However, I would like a word with you in private, if you don't mind. Prompto, why don't you go and get ready for the celebration that the rest of your colleagues will be throwing? Master Caelum should be along shortly to join you." And, without waiting for any sort of a reply from Prompto, Mr. Izunia clamped his hand down on Noctis' shoulder, hard, and yanked him toward the back exit to his booth.

Prompto could only sit there and watch with wide eyes as Noctis glanced over his shoulder, an apology in his expression. A part of Prompto knew that he probably should have done what he was told, but... panic, worry about his new friend wouldn't let him. He moved to follow, taking a few jogging steps toward Noctis and Mr. Izunia, but before he could get too far, Mr. Izunia turned, narrowing his eyes and shaking his head no.

"Go and get ready for the _celebration_ , Prompto."

A feeling of dread bubbled up where the pleasant butterflies had been before, and Prompto simply stood there for a couple more seconds. Before Mr. Izunia yanked Noctis into the door, Noctis mouthed a quiet, "go," over his shoulder.

It was only then that he obeyed, and even then, it wasn't completely. He didn't go back to his own caravan. Moving past it, he followed the same path as he'd followed the night before to get to Noctis'. The door was locked, and the key was probably with Noctis, so Prompto simply sat on the single step, leaning his back against the door and staring off in the direction of Mr. Izunia's office, trying desperately to get any sort of reading to find out what was going on inside. All he could feel was anger. Anger and hatred. Prompto wasn't even sure which one of them it was coming from, but it was so strong that it _almost_ overwhelmed him. Other emotions—some happiness, some sadness, some exhaustion, and some others, too—came from the park itself, and Prompto tried to drown those out, to focus on the anger and hatred and hope that they changed.

They didn't.

What was happening in there?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ;) ;) :)


	5. Dust to Dust

_let me in the walls you've built around.  
we can light a match and burn them down.  
let me hold your hand and dance 'round and 'round the flames  
in front of us. dust to dust..._  
[dust to dust](https://open.spotify.com/track/5P6ZBMWS66FVo6deJaDdHy) ;; the civil wars

Somehow, Noctis managed to walk away with just a shiner, and probably a bit of a bruise on his stomach. Those, and mention that for the foreseeable future, he'd have half the money when he was allowed to go shopping. How Izunia had known that it was _him_ that cut the pipe on the hot water heater was a mystery, but he knew. He always knew. It didn't matter what happened, it didn't matter who did what... Izunia _always_ knew, and he was always there and willing to deliver whatever punishment he thought was appropriate. For Noctis, it always seemed to be some kind of physical abuse, and a reminder that 'the ice you walk is getting thinner and thinner. You do not wish to know what will happen if you break it.'

Noctis wasn't really scared, though. It was hard to frighten a man who really had nothing left to lose.

He really just wished that Izunia had waited to show up and do his thing until _after_ he'd dispelled his illusion. It had been nice to see Prompto so relaxed.

A black eye and a stomach bruise were probably among the tamer things that Izunia could have done. Probably among the tamer things that he _wanted_ to do, even. So, Noctis breathed in a slow and steadying breath as he stepped out of the office. The sun was setting, and his booth was still locked, so Noctis opted to go back to his caravan to prepare for the party instead of going back to work. It occurred to him that Prompto was probably a little bit worried. Noctis decided to stop by his caravan after stopping at his own for a shower, a change of clothes, and a little bit of ice on his eye.

Except, it ended up not being necessary. He neared his caravan, and was surprised to see Prompto outside and waiting for him. He was sitting on the front step, his hands folded in his lap and his eyes on the ground, worry furrowing his brows together. Lost in thought. Noctis wondered if he startled easily. Some people did. Ignis, for one, didn't like it when people walked up behind him unannounced.

Noctis tried to approach slowly, but when before he got too close, he saw Prompto's head snap upward to look at him.

The worry on his face practically doubled, and he was on his feet in an instant to stand in front of Noctis and look his eye over. "What happened?" he asked softly.

"It's no big deal," Noctis shrugged. "I'm fine."

He really was, too. It wasn't like it was the worst thing that had ever happened to him, and he'd probably end up with worse the _next_ time he pissed Izunia off, too. Still, Prompto shook his head adamantly and narrowed his eyes up at Noctis. "That's gonna be a bruise tomorrow. That's not 'no big deal,' Noct... _Noctis_ , I mean..." he corrected in a slightly panicked tone.

It made Noctis grin in spite of himself. "Noct's okay..." he offered. "And it's really no big deal. Small price to pay to get you out of dinner with the boss." With that, he shrugged his head to the side, stepped around Prompto and up to the door to unlock it.

After he unlocked and opened the door, he turned to look at Prompto, who was still standing there, staring up at where he stood on top of the step up to his caravan, and blinking dumbly at him. There was an unspoken question in his eyes; one that Noctis didn't really know him well enough to read, but instead of asking what it was, he beckoned with a shrug of his head for Prompto to follow him. "You coming in?"

Prompto nodded, jogging up to the step and joining him inside the caravan again. "Um... you didn't have to do that, you know..." he murmured, leaning back against the door when he closed it. "Either thing. Cutting the line _or_... playing that off like it's no big deal. It looks like it hurts." He watched Noctis as he went through his small trunk for some clothes.

"Yeah," Noctis answered, "I did, actually. Dinner with Izunia is never good. Like... it always means that he's gonna creep on you. A couple of my friends—people that you'll be meeting tonight—Luna, Iris, Crowe, Ignis... he's done it to them, too. Flirts with them all pretty hard, and I'm pretty sure that Gladio and Nyx both want to punch him until his face caves in almost as much as I do."

From the door, Prompto laughed a little bit. "I'm starting to feel that way myself..." he muttered.

Noctis frowned. See, this was exactly what he was afraid of. Izunia tended to take people that he chose, claim them, and wouldn't leave them alone until they gave him what he wanted. With a frown, Noctis stood with his clothes in his hand, and turned toward Prompto. "H-hey. Um... can you... can I ask..." He couldn't exactly finish his sentence. How _could_ he, really? How could he ask Prompto not to fall prey to the obsession that Izunia had, because it wasn't really his place?

"Anything..." Prompto answered, glancing over at him with a gentle smile. "You can ask me pretty much anything." With a sideways shrug of his head, he bit his lip and glanced down at the ground, like he'd said something embarrassing.

It wasn't, though. They were friends, and they'd been pretty upfront with each other so far. Still, Noctis felt a little bit nervous asking _his_ question, so he understood the weird feeling that Prompto seemed to be having. It was like they were caught in this weird, in between place of being comfortable around one another and still having full awareness of the fact that they were just new friends. Noctis knew that _he_ was comfortable, and that Prompto could definitely ask him just about any question—ask him to _do_ just about anything—and he'd do it. So... maybe Prompto felt the same way.

With a nervous quirk of a smirk, Noctis asked, "can you promise me that... no matter what he tries... you won't? You won't like... give him what he wants? B-because... because you deserve better than that. I meant what I said last night. Do you remember?"

Prompto glanced down at the floor, wet his lips, then nodded. "I remember," he answered.

The nerves were even worse now. Noctis swallowed a nervous lump in his throat and then nodded again. "I'm just... you're better than that, but you're _definitely_ better than him. Everyone is better than him. So... so can you promise me? Please? I know it's asking a lot, and I know I don't really have any right to tell you how to live your life, especially since we just met and we're... we're just barely... y'know, friends and all. But, I-"

"Hey," Prompto spoke, a little more confidently this time. "You saved my butt back there, so... for one, I'd say I can trust you. For two? I think he's repulsive." His smile was calm and gentle, as was the way he swept his hand through his hair to get some of the messy blond bangs from his eyes. "Besides... you wouldn't ask me to promise you something like this without a reason. Right?"

All Noctis could muster was a nod. The trust coming from his new friend was more flooring than anything else.

Prompto smiled again. "So, yeah. I wouldn't have done it anyway, so I can confidently promise you that I will never, _ever_ give in to what he wants me to do." There was a visible shudder that wracked Prompto's body, and he pushed off from the door to walk over and sit in the chair at Noctis' table. "Now it's only partially for me. It's partially for you, too."

Smiling, Noctis placed a hand on Prompto's shoulder and nodded. "Thanks. He doesn't deserve you." The words escaped before he even realized what he was saying, and he wanted to push them back in, but it was too late. So, in an attempt to give himself some time to recover, he said, "I'm gonna, um... shower and then change, okay? S-so... make yourself at home. You can... anything in here. My caravan is your caravan and everything." He could _feel_ the red flooding his face as he took a backward step toward the bathroom and fumbled for the door handle.

If Prompto replied, he wasn't sure. He was through the door and in the bathroom in a split second. His clothes went onto the back of the toilet, and then he stepped into the tiny shower, turning the water on. Thank the Astrals that Izunia's hot water and the employees' hot water were separated. The heat of the water didn't really help his embarrassment.

A change of clothes _did_ help him feel better, though. It always did. As much as he didn't really _mind_ his work uniform, it was always nice to get into something that was his, as opposed to something that Izunia had chosen for him. As he glanced into the tiny mirror that he'd hooked to his wall, he sighed a little bit as he looked at the redness around his eye. It was really red. Maybe it should have been enough to make him not want to go to the party, but he wanted to see his friends. He wanted _Prompto_ to meet his friends. Sure, Prompto had met them in passing, when Izunia had shown him around yesterday, but Noctis knew that everyone would love him.

Stepping out of the bathroom, he was surprised to see that Prompto was standing next to the counter and pouring two cups of coffee. Noctis managed a little smile as he walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out a sealed popsicle, holding it up to his eye. "How'd you know I'd need coffee?" he asked, grabbing the creamer from the fridge and setting it down.

"Just a hunch," Prompto admitted as he poured a little bit of sugar into his own cup. "How much sugar?"

Noctis tilted his head. "I can-"

But Prompto shook his head again, gently pushing Noctis back. "How much sugar?" he repeated with a gentle smile.

With a soft chuckle, Noctis answered, "three spoonfuls. And two caps of creamer. Thanks," he told his friend, before setting the popsicle down and reaching back down under his bed to get the trunk again. "If you want to, you can use my shower, and borrow some of my clothes again, so you don't have to go to the party in your work clothes." Everyone hated the work clothes, and Noctis remembered Prompto saying that the coeurl print pants that he was wearing weren't his favorite things. So, he stepped out of the way and gestured gently toward the trunk.

Prompto blinked. "Are you sure?" he asked, as he mixed each cup of coffee with a spoon, then depositing the spoon in the sink with all of Noctis' _other_ dirty dishes. If Ignis came by and saw them, he'd probably have had Noctis' neck.

Rather than focusing on that, though, he just nodded in response to Prompto's question. "There's a lot in here that doesn't really fit me anymore anyway. I can drag it all out for you, and if you like it, you can just have it." He turned around and started digging through to the bottom. That was where most of that stuff was, anyway.

By the end, he came up with two band t-shirts, three pairs of pants, and two hoodies. Noctis had grown out of all of them a couple of years ago, but he couldn't bring himself to get rid of them before now because they were some of the last things his dad had ever bought for him. Still, it was kind of painful. As he ran his fingers over the skull and crossbones pattern on one of the hoodies, he pulled in a deep breath and quietly, internally, told his father that it was going to someone who deserved it. Someone who needed it. He knew, of course, that his father wouldn't complain either way. Still, it was hard letting go of things like this.

For Prompto, though... he turned his head and glanced over his shoulder at his new friend, who was standing a few feet behind him and watching him as he set things out. For Prompto, he could do it. Prompto was worth it, and Prompto needed them. So, putting a smile on his face, he turned around and looked at his friend.

"I'm not sure if these will fit you, but... you can have them if you want."

Prompto looked at him with a strange expression on his face. It was soft, like he knew, somehow, that Noctis was struggling with the situation, and a little bit sad, too. "You don't have to, you know? I can just... wear the clothes that I came here in, and... you know. Wait until next time he lets us go shopping. You said that he let us, right?" he asked.

With a shake of his head, Noctis stepped up beside him and guided him over to where the pile on the bed sat. If he'd somehow managed to pick up on Noctis' uncertainty, Noctis needed him to know that it was okay. That he didn't really mind, and that he wanted Prompto to be comfortable. "He lets us, yeah. But… it's okay. Please, take them, alright? They don't even fit me anymore." He chuckled at his own expense.

As Prompto looked over the clothing, he reached down and touched the same skull and crossbones pattern that Noctis had just touched. Turning around, he glanced at Noctis with a shy and nervous smile on his face, and muttered, "thank you. Really. Maybe they can just be on loan until I get the chance to get to town. You seemed attached to them, so..."

"Nah, it's okay. Like I said, they don't fit me anymore, so if I took them back, they'd just sit in the trunk. And it's not like I won't, y'know, see them anymore. 'Cause you're around and everything." And Noctis liked having Prompto around. "Besides, they're just clothes. Take 'em. Okay?" Stepping up beside Prompto, he picked the hoodie up off of the bed to hand to him.

Noctis wasn't sure what he was expecting. Maybe for Prompto just to thank him, just for some kind of simple word of gratitude. What he _didn't_ expect, though, was for Prompto to ignore the hoodie completely and wrap his arms around Noctis' shoulders, hugging him tightly enough to completely take him off guard. Prompto still smelled a little bit like the carnival; fry oil was the most obvious thing, especially since his booth was the closest to the food court. It didn't bother Noctis at all, though. Sure, it was rubbing off on his shirt a little bit, and he'd probably smell like it, too, but that was fine.

Using the position of the hug, Noctis opened the hoodie—it was a good thing he never really folded his clothes, or else he wouldn't have been able to do this—and draped it over Prompto's shoulders. The tiny skulls and crossbones that decorated the hoodie like confetti looked a little funny on Prompto—he didn't really seem like the _type_ to wear something like that, after all—but he still looked more comfortable than before.

That was only confirmed when, after murmuring a soft "thank you," into Noctis' ear, he dropped his arms and tugged the hoodie properly over his shoulders, sliding his arms into the sleeves and then zipping it. "I'll probably have to wear one of the other ones, 'cause this one's gonna smell like fry oil and sweat from being in that booth all day, but... how do I look?"

If that wasn't a loaded question, Noctis didn't know what was. How did he look? Well, for starters, he looked night and day from when Izunia had been showing him through the park the day before. He looked happier. Not _happy_ , but _happier_ , at least. His eyes were tired, likely because of the fact that Noctis had kept him up for half the night talking the night prior, but he didn't look as physically exhausted as he had before, either. His skin was still a little bit pale, and his hands had still been a little bit cold when he'd hugged Noctis just then, but... he looked better. A lot better.

In that, though, Noctis was rapidly coming to a realization of how _beautiful_ Prompto was. A little thin, but square meals would help with that. The freckles that dusted his face were gorgeous, like accents to the pale but smooth skin of his cheeks. His eyes were bright blue and somehow managed to sparkle in whatever light Prompto was in. In the darkness, in the normal light of this room, in the bright light of the sky... they always sparkled. His smile was gorgeous, too. A little lopsided and nervous, usually, but gorgeous enough to take Noctis' breath away every time. So, how did he look? He looked perfect. The hoodie had nothing to do with it, though. That... that was _all_ Prompto.

"You're beautiful," Noctis breathed out.

Prompto just stared at him, those bright blue eyes wide and sparkling all the more. "Wh-what did you say?" he asked. He looked terrified, and of course he did. Why wouldn't he?

Noctis had just... had he really just said that? With a hiss of frustration he stepped back away from Prompto like he was on fire. "I said... I... I _meant_ that... y-you look good. Fine. In the hoodie. It looks... it looks comfortable on you. Y-you look... it looks... good."

Godsdamn it. Prompto had already been through enough, with the way Izunia seemed to be obsessed with him. Did he really need _Noctis_ being weird about it, too? The short answer to that question was no, he didn't. The long answer was that if Noctis kept that up, he was going to lose Prompto's friendship. Lose friendship with the person who had saved his life.

Rather than make a big deal of it, Noctis just reached down, picked the popsicle up from the bed and put it back in the freezer. "Is... is it comfortable?" he asked with his back to Prompto, hoping to the Astrals that, somehow, his friend could look past his stupid slip.

The red on his cheeks made that a tough question to answer. Prompto could have been blushing because he was flustered in general, and of course he was. Noctis was an idiot. There were dozens of other reasons he could have been blushing, too, but Noctis didn't get a chance to ask before he spoke up.

"Yeah. It's comfortable."

The words were simple, but the tone wasn't. It was soft and shy, like there was something Prompto had caught onto coming from Noctis or something, and it made Noctis all the more nervous, all the more embarrassed. This was stupid. It was _really_ stupid. Noctis wasn't really the type of person to get crushes on people left and right, but he was a little bit worried that it was already happening. That it had already happened. Internally, he told himself that it had to stop. As soon as he turned around, though, and looked at Prompto, he realized that it wasn't as simple as that.

Before he could let his thoughts manifest any further, he forced a smile up—thankfully, practicing at his booth at least made _that_ part easy, and nodded toward the bathroom. "You should shower and change. So we can head to the party." And so that Noctis could try and assemble his brain with Prompto in the other room, but he didn't say that part aloud.

When Prompto nodded, smiled, said _something_ akin to a thank you, and then turned to head into the bathroom, Noctis breathed a sigh and looked up at the ceiling. How was this happening?

As Prompto showered, Noctis sipped at his coffee, turned on his stereo, and stared out the window at the sunset. The sky was darkening quickly, and in his periphery, he could already see the telltale signs of the bonfire starting in the small open space that they'd created in the center of the caravans. Noctis smirked a little bit. Good. Maybe he'd have a little bit to drink at the party, ease his mind and be a little bit less stupid about this whole Prompto thing. Opening the window, he breathed in the scent of the fresh air. It was still a little bit tainted from the stink of fry oil, but it was less noticeable now that the park was closed and the people on the food court didn't have to make a hundred thousand pans of fried dough a day.

Noctis remembered loving fried dough as a kid. Now, he wondered if it would ever be the same if he managed to get out of here. Probably not, but that was okay, because he was pretty sure that he wouldn't get out of here. Lifting a hand, he ran it over the skin underneath his eye, wincing at the dull ache caused by touching it. Man, he wouldn't hear the end of this from Ignis, Luna, or Iris tonight. They always made a big deal of things when he got hurt. When any of the group got hurt, really. With Noctis, it was mostly when he instigated things with Izunia, but it wasn't like he ever did it without reason. They knew that, too. They knew that usually, Noctis only did things like this when Izunia was being particularly harsh on someone. This time... maybe he wasn't being _harsh_ , but he was being creepy. Really creepy, like he had with Luna when she'd come of age. Back then, it had taken Nyx taking a stand, and it still hadn't completely stopped.

Maybe Noctis could take that stand for Prompto. The bathroom door opened, as if Noctis' thoughts had summoned his friend. Clean and dressed in Noctis' old clothes—still two sizes too big on him, to the point that he was holding one side of the pants up—he looked gorgeous. Adorable, the way he was swimming like that, but still gorgeous.

Yeah, Noctis was in pretty big trouble here.

Swallowing nerves, he stood up and smiled at Prompto. "Need a belt? I've got one that should go down to your size, and if not, I can just poke another hole in it or something." He turned back around and pulled his trunk out. "Just toss your work clothes in the wash with mine, and I can-"

"I'll start it," Prompto insisted. "Once I have a belt so I can take my hand off my pants, anyway." He chuckled softly.

After a quick discussion about which of Noctis' belts Prompto would wear—he'd chosen a black one with a silver buckle, which Noctis had needed to poke an extra hole in for him—Prompto started their laundry, and then the pair of them took off for the party. They talked for most of the way there, most of which consisted of Noctis explaining to Prompto what these parties usually consisted of. A lot of drinking, a little dancing, a lot of talking, and a lot of fun. That was the explanation that he gave, and apparently that was all Prompto needed to hear before deciding that he was totally on board. Noctis had also asked Prompto to promise that he wouldn't tell anyone there about the night prior; about what Noctis had been planning to do. They didn't need to worry about him. They all had their own problems.

Prompto's voice had been gentle and understanding when he'd said, "yeah, of course. I understand. I promise," and squeezed Noctis' shoulder.

When they walked into the open area, they were greeted by a group of three of four familiar faces who, apparently, spotted Noctis on the way. Luna, Crowe, and Iris approached, and Luna and Iris immediately busied themselves with doing their 'sociable' thing and rushing to introduce themselves to Prompto.

That was good, honestly. Izunia had done the rounds, sure, but the way he'd done it, they probably hadn't gotten a chance to talk to him. Iris was especially eager, chatting Prompto's ear off as she led him over to her usual spot near the stereo. Noctis still wasn't sure why they put her in charge of the music here. All of her music taste was too peppy, too bubblegum. Noctis didn't care too much about that, really, though. What he _did_ care about was the fact that Crowe was flashing him some kind of look. A knowing look. It was almost like the kind of look that Iris gave when she liked to think she knew something that Noctis didn't, only with an especially healthy helping of Crowe's signature sass.

Crowe had always been known for her sass. She and Ignis, really, were the worst when it came to that. Enthusiastically, Crowe delivered a punch to Noctis' shoulder and shook him just slightly. "He's wearing your clothes, Edgleord," she pointed out.

"His clothes now," was all Noctis said in response.

Arching an eyebrow in amusement, Crowe glanced over at Prompto and then back at Noctis. "So, you _gave_ him that skull and crossbones sweater that you wore like... everywhere from when you were sixteen to when you were eighteen? You just _gave_ it to him?" she asked. "You know what I think?"

Noctis' shoulders sagged. "No, but I bet you're gonna tell me."

She grinned, tipping her drink at him. "Damn straight I am," she teased. "I think you did a good thing." Again, she had a knowing expression on her face. Like she knew where Noctis _thought_ where she was going to go with it, but decided to take it a different way just to mess with him. "'Cause when I met the kid yesterday, the ratty clothes he was wearing pretty much screamed 'this is all I have on me.' Now, he has something clean to wear 'til he can get to town. Even if it is like five sizes too big for him." She mused, lifting her drink to her mouth and taking a big swig.

"Maybe I can talk to Specs about taking it in for him. Or Luna." Noctis glanced over at where Ignis was, next to the fire tending to the food by himself. A few yards away, Gladio and Nyx stood, in some sort of drinking contest.

With a smirk on her face, Crowe teased, "next thing you know, you'll be suggesting that you learn to do it yourself. Do yourself a favor and don't try. Knowing you, you'd sew your hand to the sweatshirt or something. Good luck explaining that to Skinny." She laughed slightly, and then turned her head back to Noctis.

Noctis snorted a laugh. "I'd never try and sew something myself. Not when Specs and Luna exist."

Crowe laughed and shook her head. "The Noctis way, huh? Why do things on your own when you can be a lazy and snarky fuck and ask someone else to do 'em for you." She didn't even wait for Noctis to reply, before nudging him with her shoulder and nodding toward Prompto. "Looks like Iris is about to offer, anyway."

When Noctis looked up, he spotted Iris as she tugged on the loose spots in Prompto's clothes, and then laughed as she shook her head dramatically. Even from here, he could see her lips form the words, "no way, this won't do," and then turn him toward Luna to chatter more and make suggestions for alterations. Noctis could almost feel the big, dumb grin as it crossed his face.

"So, have you fucked yet?"

If Noctis had a drink, this would have been the moment that he spit it out all over the ground. Crowe was straightforward. She'd _always_ been straightforward. Whatever he expected her to say, though, that wasn't it. The way she was looking at him, with her eyebrows raised like she was waiting for an answer that would either be what she expected or some kind of tease, she elbowed him in the arm.

"Relax, Edgelord. I'm just fucking with you." She draped her arm over his shoulders and pulled him over to where Ignis stood next to the fire. "Although you do make it a little bit too easy, with the big dumb grin you just had on your face when you looked over at him just now. You looked like Muscles does when he looks at Poindexter, or like Ulric does when he looks at Queenie." She jostled him just slightly. Crowe would always be Crowe.

Noctis rolled his shoulders, dramatically shaking her arm from them, but kept walking beside her, over to where Ignis was. "And the way you look at Iris?" he teased back.

Except it wasn't a tease. Iris and Crowe had been dating for months now, when Crowe finally took the first step and talked to her. When Crowe just shrugged, nodded, and said, "I mean, yeah. Would be kinda messed up if I didn't look at her like that, though. So, what's with you? Far as I know, you haven't been dating _him_ since spring."

Noctis scoffed. "Of course I haven't..." he snapped.

"Exactly. So... was I right? _Did_ you two fuck? You can tell me, you know. I'm like a vault with secrets," she told him.

Rolling his eyes, Noctis shook his head. "Yeah. A bank vault. Always opening for anyone who's left a deposit," he snarked.

Crowe hauled back and punched his shoulder with all her might. "Was that a slut joke?" she scoffed.

Oh. It probably _had_ sounded like that, but, "no. I was just pointing out that you're pretty much like one of those telemarketers who says that they're monitoring a call. Except, you know, instead of for quality purposes? It's for 'gossip with Luna and Iris' purposes. So, yeah. You're definitely not a secret vault, Crowe. Sorry to say." Noctis was actually a little bit proud of that one, but the pride only lasted for a couple of seconds.

Because, after a couple of seconds, Crowe put on a very obviously crocodile tear act as she walked up beside Ignis. "Poindexter, he called me a slut!" she whined as she looked over Ignis' shoulder at what he was grilling.

"No, I didn't!" Noctis insisted. "I called you a bad secret keeper!"

Ignis gave them both a look, almost as though he was already exasperated with them when they'd only just arrived on the scene. He looked from Noctis, to Crowe, and then back to Noctis. "Well, if he _was_ calling you a bad secret keeper, I would be quite inclined to agree with him, Crowe. You know I adore you, but you keep secrets like Nyx holds his own in drinking battles against Gladio," he mused, pointing over at the drinking contest, where Gladio was slamming down his empty drink and Nyx was only half-finished with his.

Crowe huffed in annoyance. "Shiva's tits! Ulric, you're pathetic!" she called over to Nyx, before turning to look at Ignis again.

The burgers that Ignis was making looked about a thousand times better than the ones that the food court served. The ones that they were forced to eat every day, if they wanted to eat. That was why Noctis always looked forward to this party, honestly. Partially because he really liked spending time with everyone, of course. It was _also_ partially because Ignis always cooked, and Ignis could really cook. Just the sight, just the _smell_ , of the burgers was making Noctis hungry. He turned to glance at Ignis, to ask when the burgers would be done. Words died on his tongue, though.

In his periphery, he caught sight of Prompto. Prompto, drink in hand, talking to Iris and Luna and laughing eagerly. Really laughing. Not just a gentle or shy laugh that he gave whenever he and Noctis inevitably ended up talking about sad things. He looked... really happy. Really, really happy, and really, really gorgeous. Tearing his eyes away before Crowe or Ignis could say anything, he glanced back at the grill.

Fortunately, it wasn't _that_ , that caught Ignis' attention. Or maybe unfortunately, because his friend completely abandoned his spatula and handed it over to Crowe, opting to turn Noctis' head to the side and crane his neck to get a good look at the swelling around Noctis' eye. "Astrals, Noct. What in the world happened to your eye?"

There were two possible routes that Noctis could take here. He could lie, which would inevitably piss Ignis off, and which Ignis would more than likely see right through anyway. Or, he could tell the truth. The whole truth. If he did—if he told Ignis that he was only provoking Izunia like he had to protect Prompto from the same treatment that he and the others had gotten for so long—he couldn't see Ignis getting too mad at that. Maybe he was wrong, but he didn't think so. So, pulling in a slow and steady breath, he explained what had happened. He explained that he'd seen Izunia walking past his booth with Prompto, who looked nervous and disgusted. He'd explained what he'd seen through the window when he got there. Prompto as close to the locked door as he could get, Izunia stripped of his coats and down to his suit. Prompto's obvious discomfort. To the point that Noctis could almost feel it through the wall.

And then, he explained what he'd done. "So, what choice did I have?" he asked. "If I knocked on the door, all that would have happened was getting the door slammed in my face. Ow! Specs, come _on_ man! That hurts!" His friend was pressing a piece of ice from the cooler to the skin beneath Noctis' eye.

"So then, what'd you do?" Crowe asked, from where she stood a couple of feet away, flipping the burgers one last time before gathering the condiments from the cooler.

Noctis breathed a nervous laugh. "I, um... I was looking around on the side of his office for something to cause a distraction, and I saw... his hot water heater and the axe he makes us use to clear brush away from the unused caravans. I kinda... took the axe to the pipe that connects the heater to his office. Made sure I just got that connector, and not the one that sends the water to us, so he'd want to fix it right away and Prompto could, y'know, get out. And so that we wouldn't be stuck with cold showers."

If he wasn't looking for it, it would have been easy to miss the grin that crossed Ignis' face. It flashed there quickly, and then disappeared just as quickly when he asked, "and he found out?" with a scowl in his expression.

With a nod and a sigh, Noctis murmured, "doesn't he always when it's me? Yeah. He found out. Came to my booth, dragged me off, roughed me up a little bit. Got my gut, too, but that was really nothing. It'll be gone in no time." He winced again when Ignis moved the ice to the top of Noctis' eye. " _Shit_ , Specs! Easy!"

"Hell of a shiner, Edgelord." There was no anger in Crowe's tone. Maybe a little bit of concern, but no anger. It was almost like she approved.

Ignis huffed his disapproval, and then nodded at Noctis. "Yes, a 'hell of a shiner,' absolutely," he mused, complete with air quotes as he handed Noctis another piece of ice. "And also another reason for him to target you. Noct, you know you're on thin ice with the man. You, Gladio, and Nyx are _all_ treading water. He practically searches for reasons to-"

But Noctis shrugged. "You think we can sit on the sidelines while he treats you guys like he does, you're sorely mistaken."

Crowe rolled her eyes. "You're acting like we can't stick up for ourselves. Still, hard to be mad when the fucker will be taking cold showers for the foreseeable future, Iggy. Probably 'til after Noct's eye heals," she pointed out with a wry little smirk.

Nodding, Noctis grinned back at her. "It's gonna come out of my shopping pay, he said. I get half as much. That's fine, though. I don't really need it all. Don't eat as much and my clothes still fit me okay," he pulled on the shoulder of his t-shirt with one hand, while holding the ice up to his eye with the other.

"I could probably shell some of mine over to you, too. For, y'know, doing the Astrals work," Crowe teased with a shrug of her head.

Noctis couldn't help but laugh at that. "You don't have to. But thanks," he murmured, glancing at Ignis with an apologetic expression. "You're not still mad, are you?"

The expression on Ignis' face went from flustered and mad to gentle and calm. "How can I be? Granted, it's less than ideal to give him _another_ reason to dislike you..." A pause and a sigh, "you were doing it to protect someone else. Any of us would have done the same, had we been aware of the situation. Perhaps not to the degree that you did, what with breaking his hot water heater, but... we'd have at least come up with something." He finished with a gentle chuckle, and a hand on Noctis' shoulder.

Noctis smirked in spite of himself. "What can I say? I go big or go home."

As Ignis turned back to check on the food, while still periodically glancing over to make sure that Noctis had the ice touched to his eye, Noctis found his _good_ eye traveling over to Prompto now. Iris urged him to replace one empty drink with another full one, which he did eagerly, popping the bottle and starting to drink. Relaxing. Letting loose. That was good; that was really good, actually. He deserved it. A tiny dusting of red coated his cheeks as he fought with the urge to approach Prompto and talk to him again. He didn't, though. It was good, that he was making friends with Iris and Luna like this. It was good that they were doing exactly what Noctis expected them to and welcoming him without hesitation.

What _wasn't_ good, though, was the pleasant mass of warmth that Noctis felt forming in his chest when he _watched_ Prompto talk with them. The butterflies that he got when he saw the smile and laughter than he shared with them. _That_ wasn't good at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are about to get fun! :D


	6. I Caught Fire

_i'm melting in your eyes, i lost my place.  
could stay a while. and I'm melting in your eyes,  
like my first time that I caught fire.  
just stay with me, lay with me now..._  
[i caught fire](https://open.spotify.com/track/6z2Fx4b0hjqLdsJQOrNxbM) ;; the used

By eleven at night, Noctis was about three burgers and two drinks in. Most of the evening felt a little further away, and it was even nicer now that he was spending time with the others. Granted, Gladio's commentary about his black eye had been a little bit more colorful than Ignis and Crowe's, and ended with Gladio cursing Izunia out under his breath, promising to make him pay someday. He always did that, though. It wasn't that Noctis didn't think he'd do it. In fact, he was pretty sure that Gladio would take any opportunity to put the man in his place. But... that was the problem.

He probably would. Almost definitely. If he tried, it probably wouldn't have gone over well. It probably would have ended with Gladio getting more severely injured than Izunia, and with the rest of them heartbroken at losing another one of their own.

That was why he was endlessly grateful when Ignis talked Gladio out of doing anything stupid. Shortly thereafter, Noctis had been beckoned aside by Luna and Iris, who were sitting together and eating their dinner. Noctis picked up a fourth plate of zu tenders and potato salad, sitting down with his friends and taking a third drink as well.

Luna had ended up at the carnival at around the same time Noctis had. A few months after, maybe. Izunia had taken a trip to Tenebrae, found Luna as a very ill child whose only caretaker was her older brother Ravus, and offered to take Luna to the healer he had at his carnival to care for her. The only catch, he'd told Ravus, was that she would have to work and live there to pay the bill. Ravus was only slightly older than Luna at the time, an older teenager, but he'd been fooled by the promise of care for his sister and allowed the man to take her. Sure enough, within a couple of weeks, she'd been healed. And since then, she was stuck running the divination booth at the carnival. Every time the carnival went to Tenebrae, Ravus would come and see her, but it was obvious that Luna missed him, and that she would almost definitely much rather be on the outside with him than stuck in this place.

Of course, if not for the carnival, then she wouldn't have met and fallen in love with Nyx. That, he figured, had to soften the blow a little bit. Finding a partner in the sadness. That was pretty much the case for all of Noctis' friends. The latest pair to add themselves to the group were Iris and Crowe. Crowe was about ten years Iris' senior. Iris was eighteen and Crowe twenty-eight, but despite a silly and fun attitude, Iris was a really mature girl, so it didn't seem like much of a difference most of the time.

Noctis relaxed on one of the old camp chairs that Gladio had set out for the group, putting his feet up on top of the cooler and setting his plate in his lap. "Seems like it's been too long since we've had one of these parties."

"It's only been a week, Noct," Iris teased as she plucked a tiny piece of potato from his plate and popped it into her mouth. "But I guess you're kinda right. It's been a long week." She sat in the grass to his right, sprawling backward and looking up at the sky.

Following her gaze, Noctis looked up, too. Cloudy again. Turning his head to Luna, he huffed a gentle laugh. "Y'know, I don't know how Izunia expects you to read the stars when you can't even see them." It wasn't the first time he'd told that joke, and it probably wouldn't be the last. He knew that Luna's divination didn't work like that.

And that was why, when she rolled her eyes and showed him a half-glare, he wasn't surprised in the slightest. "Yes, because I need to see the stars to read their energies, Noctis," she teased. "Because they completely disappear when there's a single cloud in front of them, and they don't represent whatever solar system they're the center of, however far away. Ten years and you've still yet to come up with a better joke than that?"

Despite her teasing, Noctis shrugged his head to the side and jabbed his plastic fork into a piece of potato. "Nope. That's the limit of my thought capacity," he told her simply.

"So, Ignis tells me that you got into another altercation with Izunia," Luna chastised him.

Noctis sighed. As little as he regretted defending Prompto like he had, he wasn't sure he wanted to repeat this story for the fifth time tonight. His eyes lifted to glance over at where Prompto was talking with Ignis and Crowe, met his new friend's eye, smirked, and then glanced back down to his plate. "Yeah," was all he said. If Luna wanted more details, she could ask him. He'd probably tell her.

Instead of going into a lecture like Ignis had, though, Luna simply reached over and placed a hand on Noctis' shoulder. "Relax, Noctis. I was only going to tell you that I hope he didn't hurt you too badly, and that the next time you do something like that, hopefully you'll be slightly more careful not to get caught." There was a half-smile on her face that suggested that she didn't disapprove in the slightest, actually.

"Way more careful, more like. Last thing you want is for him to just take your soul on the spot." Iris frowned at him.

Honestly, sometimes Noctis wondered why he hadn't done just that. If Noctis was treading such thin ice all the time, if everyone saw fit to remind him how he was playing with fire and all of those other cliches that meant that he was making big mistakes, why had Izunia not just taken his soul already? It was obvious that he _wanted_ to. Not that Noctis was complaining. Of course he wasn't. If he got his soul taken, then there was no way that he could prevent his friends from being on the receiving end of Izunia's advances. Sometimes, Noctis found himself wondering if that was all a part of Izunia's power trip game. Beat down and threaten Noctis, Gladio, and Nyx every time they tried to get in his way, then continue on with his creepiness, no matter how many times the others told him to stop. Rinse, repeat. It was an old game, and Noctis wished that Izunia would get tired of it and find another one.

Instead, he just said, "I'll be more careful when he decides to stop treating you guys like you belong to him."

Luna sighed, taking a slow drink from her wine and glancing over at Nyx. "That's what Nyx says, too. I always have to remind him that we _are_ his. When we signed those contracts, or our parents or families did, I suppose, our lives were forfeit. We became his. We have to play by his rules, and you know it." The tone in her voice was biting. Angry.

"I'm just scared that one of these days, he's gonna go too far with you guys and you're gonna get really hurt. Like... now that we don't have a healer anymore, if you get really hurt, there's nothing that we can do to help you. You know?"

Iris was, of course, right. Noctis knew that it was all a part of Izunia's game, too. The healer—a woman named Gentiana who had worked at the carnival for years alongside them—had also tried to escape several months ago and been sent to the sanitarium like Noctis' dad. Like Iris and Gladio's dad. He knew, of course, that they didn't have her anymore. But that didn't stop the need to prevent Izunia from doing his thing.

With a one-shouldered shrug, Noctis simply replied with, "well... we're just scared that one of these days, _he's_ gonna go too far and there's nothing we're gonna be able to do to help _you_. So... same situations, different problems," and a sigh as he glanced from Iris to Prompto.

It was funny. Prompto seemed like a completely different person now. Maybe that was because he'd drank about five of those bottles of whatever wine cooler that Luna had brought with her. Or, maybe it was because all of Noctis' friends always seemed to bring the best out of people. They always seemed to know what to say, what to do, to make sure that someone felt welcome. It was probably exactly what Prompto needed. He hadn't seemed nervous with them, but the fact that Iris had shoved a drink into his hand the second he stepped into the party probably hadn't hurt that, either.

"He talks about you a lot, you know," Luna pointed out from her chair.

Noctis' head snapped from where he'd been staring at Prompto, to look at her in surprise. "H-huh?" he asked, almost choking on the potato salad he'd had in his mouth.

On the opposite side, Iris made an exasperated noise from her throat. "Like... a _lot_. I mean, I get that you're the first friend he made here, but we'd get him to talk a little bit about himself and then two seconds later, the Noctis Caelum Twenty Questions session would begin," she rolled her eyes dramatically.

"What do you mean?"

Iris gave him a gentle punch in the arm. "What's Noctis' favorite color? Do you know what his favorite song is? He said he likes music, have you ever heard him sing?" As she spoke, her hand was raised next to her face and opening and closing like she was mimicking someone talking. "If he asked one more question about you, I was liable to explode and come get you, drag you over, and tell him to ask _you_ all this stuff. He wanted to know everything!" Despite the fact that she sounded annoyed, she was smiling just a little bit as she examined Noctis' expression for his reaction.

What other reaction could he possibly give, other than to go slightly pink? "I didn't... I didn't know he was..." If he wanted to know things like that, why hadn't he asked? They'd been alone for the whole night the night prior, after Prompto had convinced him not to jump. There was plenty of chance for him to ask questions. So... why hadn't he?

As Iris poked him in the shoulder again, his eyes settled on Prompto in the group, where he was cutting into and eating another zu tender, as well as a whole bowl of regular salad. Maybe he wanted to know about Noctis, without having to tell Noctis about himself. He seemed a little bit guarded, and it made total sense. If he'd been on the street, selling his body, he probably didn't trust a lot of people. It was a little bit stupid to expect Noctis to be an exception to that rule. At the very least, he'd earned enough trust to be let in on the little tidbit that Prompto _had_ sold himself in the past. That, he figured, hadn't been easy.

Shaking his head hard to pull himself out of his own mind, he glanced over at Luna. "So... he really asked about me? Did he... did he tell you anything about him?"

But Iris spoke up, huffing in annoyance and shaking her head no. "No. _No, no, no_. If you want to find out more about him, you can ask _him_ about it. We're not playing messenger to a pair of people too dumb to talk to each other. Right Luna?" she asked, crossing her arms at her chest and making an extravagantly dramatic pout.

Okay, so maybe she was right. Though, Noctis wasn't sure if he was too dumb, or too nervous. He really didn't want to push too hard. Prompto obviously had some pretty strong walls up, and things were fine the way they were. It wasn't like Prompto had to tell him anything he didn't want to. And Prompto seemed to trust him enough to seek him out. The fact of the matter was, though, that most of the night prior had been spent telling stories about happier times. They hadn't really learned too much about each other, beyond what they could learn from events that had happened years ago.

Noctis wanted to know more, but he was afraid to ask. He was afraid that if he pushed too hard, he would push Prompto away, and right into Izunia's trap. Selfish, maybe. But Prompto deserved... so much better than Izunia. So much better than Noctis. He glanced back down at his plate, stabbing another piece of zu meat alongside with a piece of potato with his fork and eating them.

"You know, Noctis, it's okay if you like him already," Luna pointed out, smiling over the brim of her wine glass. "A little quick, but it's normal."

Maybe Noctis could have answered. Maybe he _should_ have answered. Before he got the chance, though, Ignis appeared at his side and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Noct. You may want to attend to our new friend. I don't think he realizes exactly what he just got himself into. He challenged Gladio to a drinking contest. I tried to stop both of them, but they're both far too inebriated to listen to me. Considering the fact that _Nyx_ can't even beat Gladio..."

Then Prompto would probably drink himself unconscious before he even came close to winning. Ignis didn't even need to finish that sentence. "Yeah, alright." Maybe Prompto wasn't exactly his responsibility, but Noctis already felt a really weird sense of protectiveness over his new friend. He was pretty sure he'd proven that to himself beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Abandoning his plate in a nearby trash can, Noctis pushed himself out of the chair and to his feet. He said a short goodbye to Luna, Iris, and Ignis, and then crossed the clearing. He wove around people that he didn't talk to nearly as much as he talked to any of his friends, and stepped between Prompto and Gladio. A half-glare was the only greeting he gave to Gladio, as well as an incredulous glance toward Nyx, wordlessly asking the oldest of them why in the hell he hadn't put a stop to this. When his only response was a surrendering hand raise and a step backward, Noctis turned his attention to Prompto.

"Okay, so I know a drinking contest probably sounds like a pretty good idea, but trust me when I tell you it's not," Noctis told Prompto, taking the glass of hard liquor from his new friend's hand and setting it on the table next to him.

Prompto looked up at him, all stumbling step and uncoordinated movements, and smiled a clumsy, drunken smile. "Noct! Nocty-Noct! Heeeey! I was wonderin' when you'd be done talkin' to everyone else and come see me for a little while!" He lazily draped his arms over Noctis' shoulders, smiling a little bit wider as he leaned forward.

It was a little bit concerning. Over Prompto's shoulder, even Gladio looked a little bit concerned. He pressed his lips together tightly, before admitting, "sorry, Noct. Didn't know how wasted he was. Thought a few wine coolers wouldn't be enough to do anyone in."

With an annoyed grunt, Nyx punched Gladio in the shoulder. "Yeah, and no matter how many times I tried t'tell you to let _me_ drink with you instead of the kid, you were _so sure_ he could handle it. Look at 'im, Gladio. He's toasted," he chastised Gladio, then turned to Noctis. "Actually, you might wanna take some food and take 'im home or something. He probably doesn't need to drink too much more than he already has." Concerned eyes regarded Prompto, and the way he was nuzzled into Noctis' shoulder.

Nyx was right, of course. Astrals only knew the bad decisions Prompto would let himself make if he hung around here for too much longer. Izunia's office wasn't too far away. Noctis didn't even want to entertain what decision he might've made if his drunk brain realized that. He placed a hand on Prompto's back—the middle, not the small—and murmured, "what d'you think, Prompto? You wanna head back to your caravan?"

When Prompto shook his head and moved it from Noctis' shoulder, he glanced up at met Noctis' eyes. "Yours," was all he said.

Noctis' caravan? Was that what he meant? Noctis swallowed nervously, meeting Prompto's eyes and nodding his head. Assuming he was right, that was probably a safer place for him, anyway. If he was drunk enough to be lying his head against Noctis' shoulder _again_ , then he probably didn't need to be _anywhere_ that Izunia could get to him easily when he was alone. So, Noctis turned his head toward Ignis, asking his friend to make a plate for him to take back to the caravan. Without question, Ignis hurried over to the grill and filled a plate with everything possible, covering it over with plastic wrap and bringing it back to Noctis.

"Don't forget, Noct. Lots of water. If he feels sick, make sure to cut the water with a little bit of salt to rehydrate him."

Right. Noctis smiled a grateful smile at Ignis, before turning his attention to Prompto. "You think you can stay on your feet long enough to walk back to the caravan with me? Or do I have to start getting creative to try and get you back?" That was punctuated by the fondest smile at how Prompto was nuzzling against his shoulder again.

Prompto shrugged his shoulders. "Y'can carry me. If you wanna," he muttered against Noctis' neck.

It brought his slightly-buzzed mind back to the way that Prompto had been _kissing_ his neck the night before, but he didn't say as much aloud. Instead, he just nodded. "Hold around my neck, alright?" he asked, not that Prompto really needed to be told. He was already hugging around Noctis' neck. Loosely, but tightly enough that he'd probably be hanging from Noctis' shoulders if his feet left the ground.

Which was exactly what happened. Noctis bent down, placing one arm across Prompto's back and then the other behind his knees. With minimal effort—some effort, because it was obviously another person's weight, but minimal because he was so thin—Noctis picked him up from the ground, let Prompto grab the plate of food, and started the walk back to his caravan. Prompto was nestled against him gently, relaxing, and smiling lazily and drunkenly up at Noctis.

"You're warm," Prompto announced, unprompted.

Noctis couldn't help but huff a little chuckle. "You're drunk," he announced in return.

The way Prompto responded with a gentle, "yeah," was probably the most adorable thing Noctis had ever seen in his life. "Was fun, though. Your friends are fun."

Glancing down at Prompto, Noctis shrugged a shoulder. "Your friends now, too," he pointed out, meeting Prompto's gaze and watching the smile that spread across his face.

It was shy, but nervous and happy, and the way he just nestled a little bit further into Noctis' shoulder told Noctis that, maybe, he hadn't thought of it like that before. "Crowe's funny," he murmured, letting the plate of food rest on his stomach and lifting one of his hands to draw idle and lazy patterns on Noctis' arm.

"And obnoxious," Noctis replied with a fond smirk. "Like the big sister that you couldn't get rid of even if you want to."

Prompto laughed and nodded. "Iris is nice, too. She told me she'd take these in for me, and some of Ignis' clothes that he said he'd let me have, too. She's Gladio's little sister, right? That's what you said last night."

Nodding, Noctis glanced down at him and half-smiled. "We grew up side by side. Iris is the pain in the ass _little_ sister that you can't get rid of even if you want to. Guess it makes sense, since they're dating." He laughed a little bit. "Guess we're all kinda like a weird family. Luna got here right after me. She seemed to like you. At least she had a lot of nice things to say when I was sitting with her." He didn't feel the need to bring up that Luna and Iris had teased him about mentioning Noctis all the time, mostly because Noctis figured that it wasn't really that important.

With a nod, Prompto mused, "I like her, too. She seems like a big sister that you don't _want_ to get rid of, because she always has nice things to say," in a soft tone. "She told me that I looked happy. Did I?"

Had he? Every time Noctis had looked, he'd had a smile on his face that had made Noctis feel a little bit weak, and Luna said that he'd seemed happy, so... "yeah. You did. You looked like you had a lot of fun. I'm glad." That probably sounded way too familiar than Noctis had meant for it to. Like he had any right to be glad that Prompto had a good time like that.

"M'havin' a good time now, too. With just you," Prompto added in a slurring voice as he leaned his head back against Noctis' shoulder. "D'you think, when we get back to your caravan, you can use your illusions to take me somewhere far away from here? Somewhere that's... really high up and full of open air? Where we can see the stars and everything?"

Actually, as soon as the question escaped, the perfect place entered his mind. Somewhere high up. He thought back to Insomnia, to his parents' apartment, high on the top of one of the skyscrapers in the city. Turning to glance down at Prompto, at the way he was looking up at Noctis with hope mixed in with the happiness in his gaze, well... Noctis couldn't imagine saying no.

So, he didn't. "Sure," he answered simply.

Prompto smiled a little bit wider. "So nice t'me, Noct."

"You deserve it," Noctis answered.

The feeling of happiness that Noctis felt coming over him in that moment wasn't exactly expected. It wasn't unexpected, either, because having Prompto hold onto him like he was, and looking up at him with his eyes shining happily... it was hard to feel anything _but_ happy. It had just come along so suddenly, so out of nowhere, that he wondered if Prompto had some sort of magic. Noctis couldn't remember the last time he'd felt happy like this.

Prompto hummed a soft murmured note against Noctis' neck, then mumbled, "y'know. Sometimes having empathy sucks. But when I'm around you, s'not so bad."

Empathy. Wasn't that the ability to feel other people's emotions, or was it the ability to project his own emotions onto other people? Noctis had known people, in passing—people who'd come through the carnival and had their souls taken—with each individual side. Which one did Prompto have? He guessed he could just ask. Maybe Prompto would be a little bit more inclined to answer in his... advanced state of drunkenness. Admittedly, Noctis felt a little bit guilty for thinking like that, but he was curious. "Which kind of empathy? The kind where you get or the kind where you give?" he asked.

"Both," Prompto replied, pursing his lips and shaking his head. "Makes it hard. Feel something too strong and I can't keep it to myself. Someone else feels something too strong and I start feeling it, too." He made a face, then turned to look at Noctis. "S'how I found you last night. I followed your sadness and... there you were."

Noctis hummed softly. So, it was how he'd found Noctis at the ledge, and probably a part of the way he'd convince Noctis to step back. Of all the people to have found him there, it was arguably the _only_ person who could've stopped him, and not because of anything that he'd said. Though, that had helped, too. He knew that the others cared, that his friends cared and everything. Knowing that someone else cared, though? Knowing that someone he'd never really even met before yesterday cared and was willing to listen to him? That had ended up being what convinced him to follow Prompto.

With a little bit of embarrassment lining his features, Noctis muttered, "well... I'm glad you did. And I'll try not to, y'know, feel anything too hard when I'm around you." That last part was added as a joke, because Noctis was pretty sure that shutting his brain off was impossible. He wished it was possible, though.

In response, Prompto just shook his head. "Don't worry about it. Like I said, s'not so bad when I'm with you. You're... you make it easy to stop thinkin' 'bout everything that's trying to sneak into my head from the outside. And besides, if I know what you're feeling, we can share." The way he was speaking, Noctis wondered if he'd still be willing to say any of it if he was sober. He was willing to bet that the answer was no.

Still, that didn't change that it felt nice, hearing it. Hearing that he'd managed to help Prompto, too. "Well, you can hang around me whenever you want to. All you gotta do is knock, okay?"

Prompto laughed softly, nodding his head. "Better be careful, though. I might never leave," he replied, in a soft murmur against Noctis' neck.

"You're saying that like I'd want you to."

Okay. Maybe that was too much. Especially since Noctis knew that Prompto had a little bit of trouble with trust and self-worth, if the way he'd tried to get Noctis to sleep with him last night was any indication. But, it was true. The combination of the feel and tone of this conversation and the slight haze of booze clouding Noctis' mind made it hard to keep it from slipping out.

The way Prompto was looking at him was a little bit like the way he had last night, too. A little bit. A little different, though. There was still that same slightly lidded brow, and the same tiny smirk on his face, but it was different somehow. Noctis wondered if he could use this new knowledge, the knowledge of the fact that Prompto was an empath, to try and figure out what he was thinking. Underhanded, maybe, but he couldn't just ask. Could he? Asking what Prompto was thinking about would be weird and a little bit creepy. As curious as he was.

Besides that, before he could even think to ask the question, he glanced up and realized that they were at his caravan now. He turned around the corner and glanced at Prompto. "I'm gonna have to put you down so I can open the door."

"Mm-mm," Prompto hummed in denial, letting his arm hang down from Noctis' neck. "Too comfy. I'll open the door. You just figure out a way to get us in without smacking my head on the door frame, kay?" He wiggled just a little bit in Noctis' arms; not enough to make Noctis lose his grip, but enough so that his ribs were brushing against Noctis' chest.

Noctis couldn't help but laugh. "You sure you trust me enough for that?" he asked, watching as Prompto groped around on the door, trying to find the doorknob.

When Prompto nodded and said, "trust you enough for pretty much anything..." in a soft voice, Noctis definitely couldn't even try to pretend that he wasn't surprised.

So, Prompto trusted him. Prompto actually trusted him? Noctis wasn't sure what he'd done to _earn_ that trust so quickly, but all the same, when the door finally swung open and into the caravan, Noctis tried to hide the flush that was rising to his cheeks as he leaned sideways to get Prompto through the door and then walked through himself. The caravan was small, so it wasn't exactly easy to maneuver around with Prompto in his arms, but he didn't complain. He didn't care. He wouldn't betray the trust that, apparently, Prompto put in him for some reason. Hooking his foot around the door, he kicked it closed and then walked across the caravan, settling Prompto into the bed.

Except, Noctis found himself forced to stay leaning down. Prompto wouldn't let go of his neck, and persisted to try to pull him down into the bed. "I'm, uh... gonna need you to let me go, so I can lock the door and get you a glass of water, okay?" He half-smiled, turning his head in an attempt to meet Prompto's eye.

If anyone was able to see them right then, they'd probably have looked pretty hilarious. Prompto, laying on Noctis' bed with his arms wrapped around Noctis' neck. Noctis, leaned over Prompto and bent in the middle, trying to turn his head so that he could see his friend's face. Noctis couldn't even see it, and he was having a little bit of trouble not being amused by it.

"Promise you'll come back?" Prompto murmured.

Noctis nodded. "I promised you that I'd take you somewhere, remember?" he asked.

That seemed to satisfy Prompto for the moment. With a smile, he released Noctis' neck and sat up in the bed so that his back was rested against the tiny bit of wall between the two windows. He watched Noctis closely as he locked the door, then took the plate of food from the bed and brought it over to the fridge. He put it away, and then moved over to the cupboard and took two cups down. One he filled with just plain water. The other, he filled with water and just a tiny bit of salt, as per Ignis' instructions.

"Salt?" Prompto asked, curling his lip.

Noctis nodded. "Hydration. Like they put in sports drinks. Specs taught me that the first time I got totally plastered at one of those parties. All 'cause I tried to challenge the Big Guy to a drinking contest like you did," he murmured, bringing the glass of salt water over to Prompto. "You'll drink it, right?"

With a nod, Prompto lifted the water to his lips and took a slow, deliberate drink. "Kinda wish it was another one of those wine coolers that Luna had, though. Those were pretty good," he admitted with a wry little smirk.

Shrugging, Noctis grabbed his cup of water and headed over to the bed to sit next to Prompto. The window was cold against his back, but he didn't mind. It was kind of relaxing, because the booze working its way through his system was warming him up pretty significantly. He turned to look at Prompto beside him, watching as he took another drink of water, and pulled his lower lip into his mouth.

"So, empathy."

Prompto nodded.

A tiny bit of curiosity rose up in the pit of Noctis' stomach. "Do you, um... when you're around me? What kinds of feelings do I give you?"

For a second, Prompto just went flustered. He practically choked on the water he was drinking, sending little rivulets of it flying from his mouth and onto Noctis' bedspread. Noctis immediately put a hand on his back and started rubbing it, trying to ease his coughing fit. The coughing wasn't accompanied by any vomiting or anything, so he wasn't worried about getting Prompto to the bathroom. When he _stopped_ coughing, though, his whole face was beet red as he looked at the wall, his head facing away from Noctis. The redness could have been from coughing, but it was centralized mostly to his cheeks and ears.

"Was... did I insult you?"

Prompto blinked, turning his head to look at Noctis in surprise. "I... n-no!" His voice was still raspy from coughing, but he also shook his head adamantly, as though the harder he shook his head, the more Noctis would realize that he was being genuine about his insistence that Noctis hadn't insulted him. "No. I... you just took me by surprise is all. S-sorry. What did you ask again?"

Though he wasn't sure that Prompto was being _completely_ honest, Noctis still murmured under his breath, repeating his question. "I was just... wondering what feelings you got from me? What feelings I give you," he explained, turning his head to look away.

For a few seconds, it was almost possible to hear a pin drop in the caravan. Neither Noctis nor Prompto were saying anything, and when Prompto finally spoke up again, his voice was quiet and shaky at first. "I'll tell you what," he started, then paused, and when he started up again, it was almost like the booze was bolstering him again. "You take me somewhere like you said you were gonna, and I'll answer your question. Okay?" His hand came to rest on Noctis', which was sitting on the bed between them.

At first, Noctis was ready to take the question back, but Prompto's offer had him nodding. "Okay." With a quick glance down between them, at the way Prompto's hand was on top of his, Noctis let his eyes trail up Prompto's arm and come to rest on his face "Need you to keep touching my hand, though. I can't take you anywhere with me without it," he explained. Plus... well, he didn't really mind Prompto touching his hand that much, anyway.

Prompto just nodded. "That's fine," he answered, mumbling nervously.

As Noctis tried to think back to Insomnia, he let his body relax and focused all of his mind's energy into bringing Prompto into the illusion with him. Taking people into illusions required a physical link and a mental link. It was almost like Noctis' brain was a phone, and he was dialing Prompto's brain and waiting for an answer. Their joined hands served as something of a conduit, like a phone wire, that linked their minds together and made it easier for Prompto's mind to access what Noctis was trying to project. When it was multiple people, sometimes it was really draining. It took a little more effort to connect with more than one brain—like earlier, with Prompto and the three boys at his booth—and was a little bit more exhausting. With too many people, sometimes he needed a couple of hours to recover. When it was just one person, like right now, it was easy.

That allowed Noctis to go into even greater detail, too. As he thought back to the rooftop on Insomnia, he projected the image to Prompto. The stars stretched out for miles above them, and below them, the city lights shone and flickered like decorative lights. They were on top of a skyscraper, so the air was supposed to be thin, but Noctis altered that detail a little bit. The air was normal and easier to breathe. The temperature was a pleasant spring breeze, and the night was clear. Not a cloud in the dark sky. On the roof sat a small love seat, like the one that he and his dad would sit on when they came out here to stargaze.

Though in reality, they were sitting, in Noctis' illusion, they were standing in the center of the rooftop. As he looked around, a feeling of wistfulness overcame him. Sadness. It was a good memory, but at the same time, it made him miss his dad all the more. Truthfully, he was having a harder time coming up with an illusion of his dad to comfort him on bad days. Almost like he was starting to forget what he looked like.

Now, though, wasn't the time to think of that. Noctis turned to look at Prompto, who was looking around with his eyes wide with wonder and amazement. "This is... this is an _illusion_?" Prompto asked, taking a stumbling step toward the large, decorative balustrade on the edge of the roof.

He wasn't in any danger, not really. Even if he did fall, it wouldn't matter. Everything here was an illusion, so if he fell, he'd be fine back in reality. Falling in illusions was still jarring, though, because the whole mind is under the illusion that it was happening, which meant that the body actually felt like it, too. That was enough to make Noctis reach a hand out to place on Prompto's shoulder, to steady his steps. "Yeah," he answered, trailing his hand down Prompto's arm and twining their fingers together. "What do you think?" he asked.

"This is... amazing!"

Prompto tugged on Noctis' hand, pulling him closer to the balustrade. His steps were still a little bit clumsy in his drunken state, and Noctis stepped a little bit closer to him, sliding an arm around his shoulders in an attempt to steady him as they continued to the edge. When they got there, Prompto leaned his hands against the balustrade and looked over the edge, down at the town below them.

Turning his head, he glanced at Noctis and murmured. "This is Insomnia..." in a soft tone.

Noctis blinked and nodded. "Yeah..." he answered. "How'd you know?"

As Prompto turned around, he blinked and sighed a nostalgic sigh. When his eyes settled on the Insomnian skyline, he leaned forward slightly so that his arms were crossed on the balustrade and stared out at the horizon. "I was in a foster home here when I was a kid. I was about eight or so." He was talking like Noctis knew that he'd moved around a lot, but Noctis supposed it didn't matter, because he knew now. "I used to go up to the top of one of the buildings in the business district with my foster sister and brother. We'd sit there for hours, eat lunch, do our homework and everything, until the place was about to close and we had to go home." Narrowing his eyes out against the skyline, Prompto looked around, obviously trying to find the building.

"I lived here until I was ten. When my mom died and I got hurt," Noctis explained. "This is the building I grew up in."

Prompto turned toward him again, smiling a fond smile. "So, we lived in the city at the same time, huh?" he asked.

Frowning, Noctis added, "but never ran into each other."

"Probably for the best," Prompto murmured, quickly turning his head away and looking back out at the skyline again. "I didn't live here long. Just a year or so. The guy I lived with was a really big drunk, and he liked to yell us. Me and Cindy and Loqi—they were my sister and brother—and social services had to step in and take us away. Got moved to Lestallum."

It was only a little bit, but it was more information than Noctis expected to get from Prompto. He tightened his hold around Prompto's shoulders just slightly, holding him a little bit closer, and smiled when Prompto leaned against him. It was just an illusion, sure. But it was something that was just for them. Somewhere that only Noctis could bring them. A part of him hoped that Prompto felt as special as he really was. As he turned, glancing from the skyline up to the stars, suddenly he felt a little bit less sad about everything else. Maybe that was Prompto's empathy, or maybe that was just the fond memories that Noctis had about this place on his own. Whatever it was, though, he was content to stay here just as long as Prompto wanted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Getting romantic in here... ;D


	7. My Blue Heaven

_we swing and we sway as this tiny voice_  
_in my head starts to say:_  
_you're safe, child, you are safe..._  
[my blue heaven](https://open.spotify.com/track/3Alqr5cFeGbiNkXW6JjPxx) ;; taking back sunday

Prompto wasn't sure if it was just his drunk mind, but this was... the most amazing place that he had ever seen in his life. It was Insomnia. He'd been here before. He'd lived here for a year, after all. But... never this high up. Prompto was anxious about many things, but heights always seemed to calm him down. Maybe it was because from up here, up in a place this high, everything seemed so small. He and Noctis were like superheroes, looking down at the citizens and watching over them.

The illusion was very real, too. It made perfect sense, since Noctis was drawing from memory here. He'd lived in Insomnia, too, as a kid. Crazy. Weird. Years ago, they'd been in the same place and neither of them had ever met. Prompto was too busy spending his afternoons and evenings on rooftops with Cindy and Loqi and hiding away. While Prompto was endlessly curious as to what Noctis was doing as a kid, what he was _like_ as a kid, there was also the lingering fact that he owed his friend an explanation. He'd promised that, if Noctis brought him in here like this, he would explain the feelings he got from Noctis.

Fortunately, that was less telling about Prompto and more telling about Noctis. Still, thinking back on how he'd phrased the question... it was almost like his own feelings were obvious. Like Noctis had picked up on them. It was weird to think about, since Prompto was the one with empathy and _he_ was the one that should have been able to pick up on any feelings from another person. That was the only reason that he was so readily dismissing the way it sounded. He didn't even really know what his feelings _were_ , other than that they were... good.

Noctis was different. Prompto had met a lot of people in his life. None of them ever really lingered that long. Still, the feelings that he got from—no, not from... _for_ —most of the _other_ people he'd met weren't like this. Noctis was so kind, despite the fact that life always seemed to want to kick him around and knock him down, and it made Prompto wonder how he did it. How did he stay nice, how did he stay so gentle, when he was so lonely all the time?

That, of course, was the biggest feeling that came from Noctis. Loneliness, sadness, and sometimes a little bit of nervousness.

Turning his head and watching as Noctis looked wistfully out over the Insomnian skyline, Prompto was sensing it again. There was a level of comfort there. A level of warmth and trust that Prompto had thought, at first, was coming from him toward Noctis. This was different, though. It was communicating with the part of his brain that _received_ emotions, filtering through, and telling him that it was coming from Noctis. Trust and comfort. Was it comfort with the surroundings? Or, did Prompto dare hope that this level of comfort was because of him?

"To answer your question," Prompto decided to take the easiest road to finding out, "what I get from you... s'usually a mix of bad stuff. Sad stuff, like... I think you're lonely. You love your friends an' everything but you miss your dad, an' you wanna see him again so you can tell him how much you love him. That's... that's what I usually get from you."

Noctis turned to look at him, biting down on his lip and nodding his head. "S-something like that..." he murmured, casting his eyes downward.

Against his volition—maybe it was his drunk mind making him a little bit more willing to do things that he normally wouldn't be brave enough to—Prompto found himself leaning into Noctis. Just a little bit closer. "Right now, though... there's more than that," he confessed. "Right now... feels like you're comfortable. Feeling safe. Probably 'cause we're in Insomnia, huh?"

For a couple of seconds, Noctis was quiet, and then he tugged Prompto a little bit closer, rubbing his hand up and down Prompto's bicep. "Partially, yeah," he admitted, his voice quiet and intimate. In fact, the noises of the city almost drowned it out. Almost. Not quite. "Partially because..." He trailed off, and didn't pick back up again.

"I feel comfortable with you, too," Prompto admitted.

Maybe it was a grand assumption. Maybe it was stupid and maybe Prompto was way off base. The comfort, though, sometimes _that_ came through his receiving sensors, too. Sometimes it felt like he was overwhelmed with comfort, between the way he felt about Noctis on his own and the way Noctis seemed to feel the same way about him. It was weird. Really, really weird. But it was also nice.

When he turned to glance at Noctis, he saw the red that dusted his friend's face. He answered in that same nervous, tentative voice, murmuring, "it makes no sense, honestly. I've known you for two days. Really only talked to you for one. But... I don't think I've ever felt this _comfortable_ with anyone before. Like, there's my dad, but that was a different kind of comfort. I knew for a fact that my dad would never purposefully do anything to hurt me. I've never... I've never been so willing to trust someone that I know nothing about."

Prompto had never even had the familial connection that Noctis had, so however overwhelming the feeling was to Noctis, to Prompto, it was completely and totally new, too. Unheard of. Really freaking scary. "Tell me about it," he huffed a breath of laughter.

"I know you have no reason to really trust me, beyond that comfort you said you feel," Noctis admitted. "But I want you to know that... I won't hurt you. I won't let anyone else hurt you, either. Okay? I know it's... I know it sounds really stupid, because what can I really do. I still want to protect you, though..." He breathed a nervous laugh. "As long as I'm here? You don't have to worry about anything. I'll do whatever I can to make sure that... that no one hurts you. Not Izunia, not customers... not-"

With a hum of protest, Prompto turned to glance at Noctis again. "I don't want you t'get..." He paused and trailed off, when he realized that he really had no right to tell Noctis what to do. Thinking it over, he tried to rephrase. "You shouldn't get any further on his bad side, Noct. S'not a good idea."

Noctis frowned. "I... maybe not, but I'd rather have him hate me than hurt you. You know?" He raked his teeth over his lip and turned himself so that he was facing Prompto a little bit more.

This angle was nice. His chest was braced against Prompto's arm, his arm was still across Prompto's back and holding onto his bicep to keep him close, and they were sort of facing each other. A little bit more than before. "I don't think he'd _hurt_ me," Prompto admitted, leaning so that he was resting against Noctis' shoulder. "Probably just... really obsess over trying to get me to let him fuck me again."

Whatever Prompto was expecting Noctis' response to be, having him completely tense in place was not it. Suddenly, Prompto was hit with a wave of disappointment, of jealousy for some reason, that took him completely off guard. Prompto turned to look up at Noctis, who had loosened the grip of his arm around Prompto. A bit of a retreat. What had happened? Prompto straightened up a bit, so that he was level with Noctis' gaze, and tried to get his attention.

Before he could even ask, though, Noctis spoke up. "Again..."

Oh. Oh, that was... yeah, he had said that. Prompto cursed internally, pressing his lips together tightly and nodding his head. "Y-yeah. Again. I... I told you what I did. Right? So, that was what I was doing before I came here. And he saw me. And hired me." With a one-shouldered shrug, Prompto found himself retreating a little bit, too.

No, the night prior, Noctis hadn't judged him. Somehow, he'd been able to learn what Prompto had done for work and still look at him with that same expression on his face. Still, not judging him about doing it as a profession might not have extended _beyond_ that. What if the thought of him turning with Mr. Izunia was too much for Noctis to deal with? What if, because of a slip of honesty—an accidental slip of honesty—he'd screwed everything up? Of course he had! Everyone here _hated_ Mr. Izunia, and with perfectly good reason. The distance between them was far enough that they weren't touching, for the first time since they'd left the party. Prompto backed up a couple of steps away from the edge, turning toward the small love seat on the roof and plopping onto it.

"I didn't... it didn't mean anything. I was trying to..." Prompto backpedaled, not even looking up at Noctis. "It was work. You know? I... needed food and I was so cold and I thought that if I did, he'd pay me enough to be able to stay in the motel for the week... and..."

Why in the hell was Prompto about to cry? Yeah, he was ashamed of what had happened, but he'd been ashamed of it before now. He'd been ashamed of it _immediately_. It didn't matter. His control of his drunk mind was pretty severely lacking, and he couldn't keep himself from blinking hard, letting a couple of tears leak out.

Prompto felt a slight atmosphere shift. Not in their physical atmosphere—the one that Noctis was projecting—but in his immediate physical atmosphere _in_ that illusion world. The love seat sank beside him, and he felt the sudden warmth of Noctis' presence again. Just like before, kind of, but a little bit different. The surprise, the disappointment, was still there. Alongside it, though, was a wave of regret mixed with understanding. Before Prompto could even react, he felt the warmth of Noctis' arm around his shoulders. Noctis pulled him in close again, running his hand gently up and down Prompto's bicep just like he'd been before.

"I didn't... I didn't like it," Prompto admitted, his breath a little shaky. "He was cold. And he wasn't gentle. They never are. I didn't like it..." It was the same thing he'd said a couple of seconds ago, but he felt like he needed to repeat it. "I never want to... he tried to ask me to do it _all the time_ and I said no. I don't... I don't want him, Noct. I..."

With Noctis' arm around him like that, he allowed himself to lean back against his friend and buried his face in his shoulder again, desperate to get back to the warm and comfortable feeling he'd felt before. Before he'd put his foot in his mouth and brought up the one thing that would almost definitely make Noctis see him like everyone else did. Except, much to his surprise, it didn't. The other arm came up and wrapped around him, gently enclosing him in a warm embrace.

Noctis' voice was gentle, soft, when he said, "it's okay. I just... I shouldn't have reacted like that. I'm s-"

"Don't," Prompto interrupted. "Should've been honest with you in the first place. When you asked me yesterday, I mean. I should've... I should've just told you that he hired me. But I wasn't and I didn't and..."

He turned his head, looking up and meeting Noctis' eyes. The gaze was warm and gentle, just like Noctis' always was, and he leaned back horizontally onto the armrest the loveseat, dangling his legs over the edge and pulling Prompto so that he was resting against his chest and he was gently, carefully running his hands along Prompto's arm again. It didn't feel like it usually did when people touched him. It felt nice. Gentle. Like he left behind little buzzing zaps of electricity every single place his fingers touched. Dozens of questions formed in Prompto's mind right then. This was just an illusion, sure, but it was taking place in Noctis' mind, which meant that Noctis... it might as well have _been_ Noctis doing it, right? So, if he was getting this type of feeling when Noctis touched him...

And did Noctis feel the same way? Did he feel butterflies fluttering about in his chest and stomach with the way they were laying? When Prompto rested his head against Noctis' chest, he heard a heartbeat. If it really _was_ just an illusion, would he have been able to feel it like that? He snaked his arm between himself and Noctis, up and to his chest, letting it rest there lightly.

In a gentle whisper, he told Noctis, "I don't like him. I don't trust him, and... I don't want him. S-so..."

Noctis nodded, the hand that wasn't on Prompto's arm moving up to loosely push his own hair out of his face. "It's okay," he reassured Prompto. "I didn't think you did. I just..." He laughed bitterly, and it sounded like a laugh at his own expense.

"What?" Prompto asked.

Sighing softly, Noctis shrugged his head, glancing down to look at his hand on Prompto's arm. "I got... I got jealous. I know it's stupid, because it was your job. You were just trying to survive. And it's not even like we…" He trailed off. "But still. The thought of... the thought of him touching you? The thought of his hands on you? I..." His cheeks went even pinker, and he shook his head no, like that was enough of an end to the sentence.

It kind of was, though. Sure, some of Prompto's clients had been jealous before. He'd watched a pair of them argue over who had the right to him first, and then it _almost_ ended with all three of them getting arrested—if he hadn't run and hid, he probably _would_ have been—but that jealousy was different from this. Noctis' jealousy was from a good place. To be honest, Prompto would have probably _willingly_ taken an offer like the one Mr. Izunia had made if it was coming from Noctis. That was mostly because Noctis was the kind of person who would never _make_ an offer like that, though. The kind of person who would have probably never hired Prompto if they'd met outside of this place.

The kind of person who was so much better than Prompto; who _deserved_ so much better than a _prostitute_ who'd been dragged in here after he turned with Mr. Izunia.

Prompto frowned. "I still dunno why you're so nice t'me," he confessed, raising his hand to wipe away some half-dry tears.

When he turned up to meet Noctis' eye, he was surprised to see Noctis smiling again. "I care about you. And I think you deserve better than this place. Better than where you were, too. That's why," he answered, bringing his hand up and pushing Prompto's bangs out of his face.

To be honest, Prompto wasn't sure what surprised him more, the words or exactly how _nice_ Noctis' hand felt as it smoothed through his hair. Prompto closed his eyes, tilting his chin up and trying to preserve the feeling for a couple of seconds longer after Noctis' hands left his hair. It ended up not mattering, though, because Noctis laughed a soft note—Prompto could hear it, but he couldn't see it—and then brought his hand back down and used his fingers to gently comb Prompto's hair. Suddenly, Prompto understood why animals liked this so much. He hummed his approval, then curled into Noctis even more.

"Better be careful. Might fall asleep on you," Prompto murmured under his breath as he buried his face in Noctis' chest.

Noctis chuckled softly again—the slight movement in his chest caught Prompto's attention, as did the gentle noise—and continued carding his fingers gently and slowly through Prompto's hair. "I think I'd be okay with that," he murmured. "Unless you're in a rush to get back to your caravan."

Prompto shook his head no. "Don't wanna go back tonight. Don't wanna be alone. Is that..." he opened his eyes and glanced up, catching Noctis' eye. "Is that okay?"

The look Noctis threw back at him was gentle and soft. It was his usual kindness mixed in with a bit of surprise, and all Prompto could feel coming from him was a warmth that he'd honestly never felt coming from _anyone_ before. It was new, it was overwhelming, and it made his chest feel light but heavy at the same time. Noctis didn't answer him with words, he just nodded gently and met Prompto's eyes.

"Stay with me, alright?" Noctis finally asked when he spoke up again. "We don't have to do anything. We can just, you know... lay together. And sleep."

Sharing a bed with someone, in Prompto's life, only ever meant one thing. While he would definitely be _more_ than okay with that one thing happening with Noctis—because he couldn't imagine Noctis being anything but gentle, until Prompto gave him permission to, anyway—the thought of just laying together, of not having to sleep alone and being safe in Noctis' arms? Yeah, Prompto was definitely okay with that, too. Except, he was too dumbfounded by the offer to answer with words. Despite his nerves, which were _definitely_ still there, he managed a lopsided smile and a nod.

In a voice that was just barely above a whisper, he murmured, "more than okay. Was kinda hoping you'd ask."

At that moment, Prompto wasn't even remotely sure what had come over him. Looking up at Noctis, Noctis looking back down at him with those eyes—those _gorgeous_ dark eyes, that not even the dark purple beginnings of a bruise could mar—smiling and his arms warm and protective around Prompto, it filled him with a different kind of want. Something he hadn't wanted to do since he was in school. Apparently, drunken hazes had their purposes, and sometimes those purposes were emboldening Prompto to go for things that he almost definitely wouldn't have done otherwise. Wiggling up Noctis' body just slightly, Prompto quirked a little grin, and then acted before he could talk himself out of it.

"Close your eyes," Prompto murmured into Noctis' ear.

Honestly, a part of him expected Noctis to refuse. If someone asked _Prompto_ to close his eyes, he was always really hesitant. Mostly because it almost always meant that they didn't want to look at him—that they didn't want _him_ to see _them_ —when they fucked him. Much to his surprise, though, Noctis _did_ close his eyes. Not because of a lack of desire to look at Prompto, Prompto didn't think. No, it was more than likely because Prompto had asked him to. Still, it just served to cement the fact that, even when he was _doing_ the same things, Noctis was different.

Because of that, Prompto raised his hand, sliding his fingers gently along Noctis' face and letting them come to rest on his cheek. With a gently urging push, he turned Noctis' head so that it was facing his. The warmth of his friend's breath brushed against his cheek and made the butterflies flutter even harder. His drunken haze emboldened him a little bit, and he decided that it was time to just... go for it. Leaning in, very tentatively at first, he pressed a soft kiss to Noctis' lips.

His one rule when it came to turning, or anything else really, was completely and totally out of the window. Noctis wasn't a client, though. Just like he'd said last night. He was someone that Prompto actually cared about. Someone that Prompto, in the short span of two days, had actually come to like. So, maybe it was a rush decision. Maybe he'd regret it later, or maybe Noctis didn't even _want_ it. It was too late to worry about that now.

In the middle of the kiss, Prompto felt the _whole_ atmosphere around him change, though. It was an abrupt change, almost like someone had pushed him down and he'd hit the ground, only without the pain. Suddenly, when he opened his eyes, instead of being on the rooftop of a building in Insomnia, they were right back at the carnival, in Noctis' caravan, sitting beside each other on the bed like they hadn't even been laying on top of each other and like Prompto hadn't even kissed Noctis. All Prompto could do at first was blink as he tried to gather his brain and realize what had happened.

Noctis, though, was looking at him with his face completely red. "Um... s-sorry. I lost my focus. I mean, I had focus, but none of it was on the illusion, so it kind of..." He laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck and finally turning to look at Prompto. "The illusion kicked us out. Or, I guess the best way to say it was that my brain kicked us out, because I couldn't..."

As Noctis continued trying to explain what had happened when he lost focus on the illusion, _Prompto's_ focus was on his lips as they moved. His hazy mind wouldn't let him pay too much attention to Noctis' words—as guilty as he would have felt about that sober—and all he could think about was how much he _still_ wanted to kiss Noctis. So, rather than let Noctis feel too guilty about losing focus, when it sounded like it was kind of Prompto's fault anyway, Prompto raised a hand and placed it on Noctis' cheek again.

"Sh," he hushed his friend, putting his pinky on top of Noctis' lips and stopping him mid-sentence. "S'okay, Noct. I don't mind. Lay back down."

At first, Noctis just blinked at him. For a couple of seconds, he just stared, jaw agape, at Prompto's face. Then, he moved slowly to do as Prompto asked. That was... still so weird to Prompto. No one ever did what Prompto asked so readily, but then there was Noctis. Then there was this warm, gentle, caring person who already seemed to trust Prompto to the point that anything Prompto said, he did. Another warm feeling burst from his chest and to the rest of his body, but before his mind could focus too much on that and for too long, Prompto crawled up beside Noctis and propped his head up on his hand and his elbow on the bed.

Leaning down, Prompto whispered in Noctis' ear again. "M'gonna kiss you again. Okay?" At least this time, his mind had taken a second and allowed him to ask if it was okay instead of just going for it.

In a quiet and surprised voice, Noctis pointed out, "I thought... I thought you didn't do that?" His words were just a breath against Prompto's ear, which made goosebumps rise on his arms and made him want _more_ than just a kiss. For now, though... for now, a kiss was okay.

"Sometimes there're exceptions. Like the only person who's ever looked at me and not treated me like a screw-up 'cause of what I did for work," Prompto pointed out.

When he moved away from Noctis' ear, he saw a lopsided grin on Noctis' face. The hand not propping his head up moved to rest on Noctis' chest, and Prompto had to smile a little bit at the feeling of Noctis' heart pounding. Fast. Then again, his heart wasn't really a slouch at the moment, either, so... that was okay. Prompto leaned over, glancing from Noctis' eyes to his lips, and then back up to his eyes before sliding his own eyes closed and leaning in for a kiss. At first, it was just a simple one. A soft touch of lips on lips should _not_ have felt that good, though. It _also_ shouldn't have made a shiver sneak its way up Prompto's spine.

If that hadn't done it, though, the way Noctis' hand felt when it came to rest on his hip would have. Hands on Prompto's hips usually only ever meant one thing, but Noctis' touch was gentler. It wasn't pulling, wasn't tugging. Hell, it wasn't even that _hard_ of a grip. It was just a soft touch of warmth, a tiny bit of pressure on top of his hip and over his pants that made his heart race a little bit more.

The touch may not have been grabbing or pulling, but that didn't mean that it didn't make Prompto move. He did move, so that he was half on top of Noctis, laying on his stomach against Noctis' side, while Noctis was laying on his back. With a smile, he brushed Noctis' hair from his eyes and then went in for another kiss.

Prompto wasn't exactly sure which one of them had instigated it, but this time, the kiss wasn't half as chaste. Maybe it was him, or maybe it was Noctis. Or maybe it was both of them. Whoever it was, though, didn't matter. What did matter was the fact that their mouths were open now, little nipping kisses that trapped Prompto's lower lip between Noctis' teeth for the briefest of seconds and stole Prompto's breath along with them. Prompto felt like maybe his heart was going to break its way through his rib cage to beat out of his chest at the way Noctis slid back on his bed to sit up. He pulled Prompto along with him, and Prompto threw his legs over Noctis' hips, leaning in to kiss him again.

This time, Prompto's tongue brushed out, coming into contact with Noctis' lower lip and asking for more. Noctis opened his mouth, and Prompto brushed his tongue against Noctis', before crashing their lips together and kissing him until all of the air was completely drained from his lungs and he came back gasping for air.

He grabbed a tight fistful of Noctis' shirt, leaning down to kiss him again—this time it was just a quick and gentle one—before dipping his head to pepper soft kisses along his jawline. Noctis' head lolled backward, hitting the wall with a dull thud that coerced a gentle laugh out of the both of them.

"Y'okay?" Prompto murmured against his jaw.

Noctis nodded, both of his hands coming to rest on Prompto's hips. "You think I'm just okay? You're pretty crazy."

One of his hands reached up, taking Prompto's chin in his hands just like he had the night before. Gently, he turned Prompto's head so that they were eye to eye. While Prompto was expecting--and wouldn't have even complained about—another kiss, what he got was anything but. Noctis was just looking at him, dark eyes examining his face. It was a gentle gaze, soft and appraising, even despite the way his chest heaved a little bit with heavy breathing. There was something else there, too. A softness in his eyes that Prompto didn't recognize. The receptors in his brain that picked up other people's emotions weren't exactly sure what was happening, either.

It was... it was new. It was something that Prompto had never felt from someone else before. The way his eyes were both soft and on fire at the same time, and the way he was looking Prompto in the eyes and smiling when he probably could have _easily_ have taken advantage of the situation to fuck Prompto's brains out—again, Prompto wouldn't even have complained—it was _all_ new.

New, but really, really nice. With a shaky laugh, Prompto moved one hand up and let it rest on Noctis' cheek. "S'wrong?" he asked, his voice reminding him how drunk he still was.

Noctis shook his head. "N-nothing. You just... you look really good tonight. I know I told you earlier-" (Prompto remembered. His exact words were "you're beautiful," and Prompto _still_ remembered exactly how the words sounded in his voice, and the way they made Prompto's heart skip a beat-) "but... you really do. You have the best smile."

As much as Prompto wanted to respond with words, as much as he wanted to tell Noctis how everything about him was the most beautiful thing that Prompto had ever seen, he couldn't. Not because it wasn't true. Astrals, was it _ever_. Still, despite the way Noctis was looking at him—or maybe because of it—he didn't know if it was right. Even though it was obvious that Noctis was having a good time—Prompto could tell by the way his heart was pounding and the way Prompto could feel the stiffness in his pants—that didn't mean that he wanted to hear those words from Prompto. He shouldn't have. He deserved better.

So, rather than responding with words, Prompto just leaned forward and captured his lips again. A hand smoothed up Noctis' chest and neck to tangle in his hair, tugging slightly and coaxing his head to tilt at an angle where Prompto could reach his lips easier. It had been a really long time since he'd kissed someone. He'd forgotten how nice it felt. Actually, even _then_ , Prompto didn't remember it feeling that nice. Maybe Noctis was just that good at it. It was completely reasonable. He was pretty amazing, from what Prompto had seen.

"Can't have the best smile," Prompto's brain disobeyed, letting the words move from it to his mouth, "'cause you do. Lights up a whole room. Should do it more often."

As soon as he finished speaking, Prompto silenced himself by pressing his lips against Noctis' again. Truthfully, as far as methods of keeping himself quiet went, using Noctis' lips was probably his favorite one. One of Prompto's hands slid beneath the hem of Noctis' shirt, feeling his abdomen with wandering fingers. It was warm, warmed by his shirt, probably. Both soft and hard at the same time. Smooth. There were a couple of tiny scars here and there that piqued Prompto's interest. He traced his fingers along one that ran from just below Noctis' navel to the hem of his pants. It went slightly under, so Prompto stopped himself before he got carried away.

Not that carried away would be a hundred percent awful…

Prompto's other hand came to rest on Noctis' stomach as well, beneath his shirt. It was a new expanse of skin, more for him to explore and learn about his new friend, and Prompto would be lying if he said he wasn't curious about every inch of it. His hands moved north a little, traveling up toward Noctis' ribs, when Noctis winced beneath him. Prompto jumped, scooting back just slightly, and glanced down at Noctis in concern.

"Are… did I-"

At first, Noctis shook his head no. Then, he lifted his shirt and explained, "no. No, it wasn't you. You didn't do anything. It was…" He trailed off and pointed down at his ribs.

When Prompto looked down, he blinked. There, right at the very bottom of Noctis' ribcage, was a giant bruise that reached from the top of his second rib up, down to the bottom of his stomach. Drunken fingers reached forward, tracing the outline of the bruise with a frown etching his face downward. "He did this to you?" Prompto asked, though it was hardly necessary.

"Mmmhmm," Noctis answered simply, hissing a little bit at the feeling of fingers tracing the outline of the bruising. "It's… it's just a bruise, but-"

Prompto shook his head. "But nothing," he insisted. "S'bad, Noct. Looks really painful. Sorry it happened, y'know, because of me..."

With a grunt and a nonchalant shrug, Noctis looked up at Prompto. "It was worth it," he answered, his tone soft again.

Worth it. Why did he keep saying things like that? It didn't matter. Noctis may have thought it was worth it, taking a beating because Prompto was so stupidly scared of Mr. Izunia, but Prompto didn't agree. Maybe, somehow, Prompto could convince the man to go a little bit easier on Noctis. The others, too. He'd heard Gladio and Nyx talking about how Mr. Izunia did the same things to them when he tried his tricks on Luna, Iris, Ignis, and Crowe. Maybe Prompto could ask him to stop that. Maybe he'd agree, because of the weird fixation he seemed to have on Prompto.

 _Maybe_ he should have been expressing all of this to Noctis, but he couldn't bring himself to. Even though he hadn't known his friend for too long, he could already hear the protests. He could already _hear_ Noctis pleading with him not to try. But he had to. If it took some of the heat from the others, he at least had to put forth some kind of effort.

The only thing he wouldn't do—for both Noctis' sake and his own—was agree to Mr. Izunia's request. He would never, _ever_ give in to being Mr. Izunia's personal toy. He had promised, and Prompto never broke promises. Especially not to someone as important as Noctis was.

"Hey," Noctis reached a hand up, gliding it gently across Prompto's cheek. "What do you say we just… get some sleep, hm?"

Prompto was a little bit surprised. It wasn't an unpleasant surprise, just a very deep one. Things had been shaping up in the direction of the physical. That Noctis was willing to just let it trail off at some making out... that was one of the things that Prompto had never thought would happen to _him_. At least not since he'd started selling himself. Noctis was, once again, taking everything he thought about himself, about his life, about _everything_ and just shattering it to pieces in the best possible way. Noctis seemed to think that Prompto was some kind of life-saver. That he'd done something special to save Noctis' life.

What it seemed like Noctis didn't realize, though, was that he was doing the same for Prompto. The same, but differently. By taking everything that Prompto thought to be true about himself, changing it, and looking at him differently? Noctis was making Prompto look at himself differently, too.

A warm smile spread across his face, and he nodded his head. "'Kay," he murmured, pressing a final kiss to Noctis' jaw, and then a lazy one to the corner of his mouth.

Noctis' smile right then was... the most gorgeous thing Prompto had ever seen. It was lopsided, lazy, and maybe a little bit nervous. Prompto felt his lips curling upward, too, and when Noctis lifted the blankets, the pair of them nestled down inside to settle in. It was hardly luxurious. The bed was small; a twin, Prompto was pretty sure. That, to Prompto, only meant that he had to get closer. As though reading his mind, he felt Noctis' arms circle him and pull him a little bit closer. Neither of them moved to turn the light off, but Prompto honestly didn't care. With how comfortable Noctis' arms felt around him, he probably could have slept through just about anything.

"Bet you're hungover in the morning," Noctis murmured into Prompto's hair.

Prompto's face was buried against Noctis' chest, and he just nodded. "Prob'ly," he murmured.

Before he could even think to say anything else, Noctis reached up and started gliding his fingers through Prompto's hair. Any other thought was a hundred thousand miles away. If bliss could be personified, it would be Prompto, falling asleep in a warm bed, being held and having his hair stroked by Noctis. Everything about the moment was perfect. Noctis' warmth, the smell of his skin, the pleasant haze that was still making Prompto feel like he was floating.

That feeling only multiplied by about fifty when Noctis murmured, "I'll take care of you. It's okay," into Prompto's hair.

As much as Prompto _wanted_ to thank Noctis—as much as he sincerely wanted his friend to know how great, how incredible, how _amazing_ he was—he found himself edging closer and closer to sleep. He tried as hard as he could to stay awake, to preserve this happiness for as long as he could, but it was pointless. Sleep won in the end, with Prompto clinging as tightly as he could to Noctis beneath him, resting his head on Noctis' chest. He was out like a light within seconds, and it was the easiest sleep had come in years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FEEEEEEEELINGS.


	8. Down

_you would have loved who i used to be,_  
 _yesterday, i would have hated the boy you see._  
 _when you found me i was at my worst,_  
 _the best i was is a long forgotten curse..._  
[down](https://open.spotify.com/track/75xFsViXAZb0ElMtWOpDli) ;; anberlin

The assumption that Prompto would be hungover was a safe one. In fact, the next morning, he woke up with the worst hangover he ever recalled having. His head throbbed, his stomach was flipping inside of his abdomen, and he just wanted to sleep more. Noctis reassured him that it would be okay before the park opened tomorrow, but Prompto had his doubts.

Another obvious downside to being hungover like he was, was his empathy. It went into overdrive, picking up emotions from all around him. Someone two caravans down had woken up on the wrong side of the bed, and every little thing was making them angry. Prompto seemed to be catching that mood himself. The sky was too bright. Not sunny, but bright. His head pounded too hard. The birds outside were chirping too much and he couldn't get back to sleep. Noctis was gone and now the bed felt lonely. That last one was what finally stirred him. Prompto opened his eyes to the offensive brightness and made a face. Throwing the blanket from over his head and rolling over, he opened his eyes again to look around the caravan. The first thing his eyes fell upon was the clock on the wall.

Nine o'clock. Thank the Six that today was their day off.

What he saw was not what he expected at all. Noctis was making breakfast—something in the microwave, but it was still something—and pouring a cup of coffee for each of them. Suddenly, Prompto's bad mood dissipated just a little bit. Just enough for him to push the blankets from the top of his head and look up at his friend with wide eyes. "Noct?" he murmured, the blanket still wrapped around him like one of those weird baby sleeping bags.

When Noctis looked back at him, smirking fondly, and starting to mix Prompto's coffee for him—Prompto couldn't remember if he'd ever actually told Noctis how he took his coffee, but honestly, he didn't care at all at the moment—the anger dissipated even more. Maybe he was reading from the strong sense of fondness that he felt coming from Noctis, or maybe it was his own increasing fondness for his friend. Whatever it was, it was chipping through the bad mood to the Prompto in the middle. He actually managed the tiniest smile as he reached a hand up from his blanket cocoon to rub at his eyes.

"You're lucky," Noctis murmured as he stirred around the coffee in the cup Prompto had used the last couple of times he'd come here. "Normally, I wouldn't be up until right before noon. Maybe after. When my alarm went off, though, I remembered that I promised I'd take care of you, and-"

Prompto just blinked dumbly up at him. "I didn't hear any alarm go off..." he muttered.

Noctis shook his head no. "Nah, you were out. Had to take your pulse to make sure you were still okay. That's usually me, though, so I just shrugged it off as karma for all the times I've done that to Specs and the Big Guy over the years." Managing a soft chuckle, he turned toward Prompto and set the coffee on the edge of the counter closest to the bed.

Finally, Prompto sat up a little bit. The room was chilly, compared to the warmth of Noctis' blankets. "You didn't have to do this. I think I wanted to tell you that last night, but I just... crashed."

"You did," Noctis agreed with a fond smile. "And I do. You deserve it. Let yourself feel good for awhile." There was a significant look on Noctis' face when he turned to glance at Prompto, like he was fully aware that he was taking the words that Prompto had said the night before last and throwing them back at him.

Which was fine, except, "I _don't_ feel good," he countered with a bitter chuckle. "I feel like someone smashed me in the head with a hammer and then threw me off the back of a truck." As tempted as he was to throw the blanket over his head again, his coffee made that impossible.

Noctis huffed a gentle laugh. "I wouldn't have let anyone do that," he reassured Prompto with a bashful smile.

In a wave, the whole of the night came back to him and his cheeks flushed completely red as he reached out to take his coffee off the counter. The party. Drinking, and drinking, and drinking _more_. Noctis carrying him back here. Going into that illusion of Insomnia. Admitting that he'd turned with Ardyn. Noctis' reaction. Kissing Noctis. A _lot_ of kissing Noctis. The way Noctis had combed his hair with gentle fingers until he'd fallen asleep. Turning to glance up at Noctis as he grabbed a plate from a small cupboard over his head, Prompto breathed a note of hollow laughter at all of it. A part of him had thought that maybe he'd forget. He remembered all of it, though.

He was torn between glad and anxious about all of it.

"So. Last night," Prompto finally muttered, before pulling his coffee up to his lips to take a slow sip and buy himself some time to collect his mind. "The party was fun, huh?" Not what he wanted to say. Not at all. It was easier than asking Noctis if he'd done anything, in his foggy-minded drunken state, that had offended him.

Noctis nodded his head yes. "It was." He slid a pair of microwaved breakfast burritos onto individual plates and then set one on the bed next to Prompto. "It was... it was one of the best nights I've had in a really long time." He paused, then backtracked a little bit. "Not just the party part. I... I mean the part where it was just us. Here and in Insomnia." Red tinged his cheeks, and reminded Prompto even more of the night before. They'd both blushed a lot. Almost as much as they'd kissed.

And because of that, Prompto smirked and eyed Noctis over the brim of the coffee cup, taking a slow and deliberate sip before saying, "I think that part was my favorite, too. It's okay."

Usually, people only said things like that when sex was involved, Prompto was pretty sure. For Prompto, though, just being with Noctis, just being held through the night and reminded that it was okay _not_ to immediately jump to sex once in a while? That was the best part of all. He sipped at his coffee more and watched as Noctis completely ignored the chair that he'd been sitting in before, opting instead to slide into bed beside him again. Glancing sidelong at his friend, he muttered, "thanks, by the way. For getting me back here in one piece and making sure I didn't get into a drinking contest with Gladio. I can't imagine that would've been too fun."

Noctis shook his head adamantly. "Take it from someone who's been there. It's not," he murmured, resting his back against the wall and trying to make himself comfortable. "I'm just glad we always throw the party on Sundays. Today's moving day, which means we have it off while Izunia puts out flyers in the new town that we're around, so today's our day to just... recover." He breathed a slow sigh.

"We actually get days off? Doesn't seem like the type of thing he'd do," Prompto murmured as he leaned across Noctis' lap and set the coffee on the counter.

Huffing a humorless laugh, Noctis nodded his agreement. "He doesn't like it. Tomorrow, you'll hear all about it when he goes from booth to booth and tells everyone how hard he slaved while we were all lazing away in our caravans." Each word he spoke was angrier than the last and he turned his head toward Mr. Izunia's office with a narrow-eyed glare in his eyes.

Prompto hummed. "You mean like what you guys have done every day since forever for him?" he murmured around a bite of his breakfast burrito.

Noctis hummed a yes, then shrugged his head to the side. "Pretty sure if I get caught playing the 'world's smallest violin' one more time, he'll take my soul on the spot."

It was probably supposed to be a joke, but Prompto didn't see any humor in it at all. He turned to glance at Noctis, then looked back down at his plate. The thought of Noctis losing his soul bothered Prompto more than it had any right to. Yeah, they'd kissed and they'd cuddled all through the night last night, but that didn't mean that Prompto had any sway in what Noctis did or didn't do. Still, the thought of Izunia actually getting what he wanted from Noctis—actually getting rid of him or whatever he wanted to do—was worrying. Prompto glanced sidelong at Noctis, then looked back down at his plate.

"Can... can you please be more careful about that?" Prompto murmured. "I know he deserves it. I know you hate him, and so do I, and so does everyone else. But you... you should care _more_ about the whole 'take your soul on the spot' thing. Because I care. And I don't want him to."

As he spoke, he refused to look over at Noctis. Instead, he stabbed his fork into another piece of burrito and ate it, then busied himself with moving little bits of egg that had fallen out with his fork. Anything but turn to look at Noctis and face the inevitable disapproval of what he'd just said.

Much to his surprise, though, it didn't come. He felt the bed shift as Noctis moved, and then watched as Noctis set his half-empty plate on the counter. The next thing he felt was the bed shifting _again_ , and then the warmth of Noctis' hand on his cheek, turning him so that they were eye to eye again. He leaned in, stealing a kiss, this one slower and lazier than the ones last night. It was chaste, just lips on lips, but the electric pulse that it sent through Prompto's body and up to his brain was enough to wake him up completely. Maybe even more healing to the hangover than the breakfast and coffee were.

Still close to Prompto's face, he leaned a little closer to Prompto's ear and whispered, "I didn't mean to upset you, Prom. I'm sorry."

The shiver that went down Prompto's spine at the feeling of Noctis' breath in his ear was undeniably pleasant, and he turned to glance at Noctis as he grabbed his plate back again. "It's okay," Prompto murmured under his breath, trailing his eyes up to Noctis' face. Astrals did that black eye look painful. "I just... please be more careful, okay? Promise me?"

For a couple of seconds, Prompto worried that maybe he'd overstepped some kind of boundary, because Noctis didn't really say anything. He was about to turn and look at his friend to apologize, to tell him not to worry about anything because Prompto was just being silly, but before he could, he felt Noctis' eyes on him.

Through the sound of a fork scraping a plate, he heard Noctis say, "yeah. I promise," and then heave a sigh. "If he starts doing his creeper BS on you and the others, though, I make no promises." Then, Prompto could almost hear the gritting in Noctis' teeth as he spoke.

Honestly, though, Prompto didn't really mind in that case. If Noctis wanted to help him out when Mr. Izunia—maybe it was about time to start dropping the mister there, Prompto realized—tried to continue to try and make advances on him, no matter how many times Prompto told him that it was unwanted, then having someone around to get him out of a bad situation wouldn't be so bad. Getting out of his _own_ bad situations was preferable, but Izunia was significantly larger than he was and could easily overpower him... _Maybe I need to start coming up with contingency plans for situations like this,_ he thought to himself.

"You know," Noctis spoke as he finished the last bit of burrito on his plate, "I'm glad you stayed here last night."

Prompto finally turned his head, glancing at Noctis, and a warm feeling rushed up from the pit of his stomach at the dusting of pink on his friend's cheeks as he scooped up the last bite of his food. He wasn't looking at Prompto; instead, he was intently staring down at his plate, though it was mostly empty, and pointedly trying to _avoid_ meeting Prompto's gaze.

Despite the fact that he was feeling a little bit nervous, too, Prompto couldn't help but smile. "Me too," he admitted, setting his plate off to the side and reaching over to the counter to grab his coffee.

That wasn't the end of what he had planned to say. He wanted to ask Noctis what trouble they could get into today, since it was apparently their day off, but before he had a chance to open his mouth to ask, the whole caravan felt like it was being jarred. Much like the feeling last night of falling from Noctis' illusion—Prompto was alarmed that he could remember that, honestly—it felt like being pushed. Like someone had walked up behind him and shoved him hard to the ground. When it happened, Prompto lost his grip on the coffee cup, sending hot coffee all over himself and the bed, and probably Noctis, too.

Prompto lurched forward, stumbling as the coffee cup hit the bed and then rolled to the floor, and he fell sideways into Noctis' lap. Noctis lurched a little bit too, but somehow his friend managed to have the mental wherewithal to balance himself on the wall before he fell and sent the pair of them to the ground in a heap of hot coffee and tangled bodies. His other arm reached down, catching Prompto before _he_ fell, too.

As he tried to recover, Prompto pushed himself up and grunted in frustration, then hissed in pain when the searing heat of the coffee finally seeped through his clothes and hit his skin. "What in the _fuck_ was _that_?" Prompto hissed, looking around the room.

Except, when his eyes fell on the window, they widened to the point that they probably almost fell out of his head. No longer were they on the chilly, rocky beaches near Ghovoras. No, it didn't even seem like they were in _Niflheim_ anymore, actually. The caravans were all in the same places—even Izunia's office was in the same place in the distance—and through another window, he saw that the whole park looked like it was in _exactly_ the same places. The only thing that had changed was the area around it. Grass changed to sand, harsh and jagged rock changed to rock that had been smoothed over by time and sand, and all Prompto could do was blink, completely stunned, in the aftermath.

Noctis cleared his throat, pushing himself up and off his bed, then scratched the back of his neck. "That's, uh... the 'traveling' in 'traveling carnival,'" he explained, as though that explanation on its own was enough and it would answer all of Prompto's questions.

Not even close.

"Wh-what?" Prompto asked.

Sighing, he turned to glance out the window at their new surroundings. "Back in Leide," he murmured nonchalantly as he turned back around. "Yeah. One of Izunia's loyal buddies can teleport. Not just, y'know, people, but he can teleport this whole place at the end of every month when our stay is up." Slowly, he pushed himself off the bed and looked down at his coffee-stained clothes.

Prompto probably should have apologized for that, but he was still completely and totally awestruck by what Noctis was saying. So, they'd literally just teleported. Not just across Niflheim. Not just to Accordo. But _all the way to Leide_? Prompto hadn't been to Leide in years. More than a decade maybe. A part of him was curious, but the rest of him was way too confused, way too stunned, by learning that they'd practically crossed the whole planet in no time. He pushed himself up and off the bed, ignoring the rapidly cooling coffee on his clothes, pushing the front door open and almost physically staggering at the temperature change.

Niflheim had been cold, but Leide was _hot_. It was a desert, so it made total sense, but it was a whiplash change that Prompto wasn't even remotely prepared for. When he turned, he saw that Noctis was picking up the remainder of Prompto's food, and the coffee cup—which miraculously hadn't shattered in the fall—to place them on the table. The bed sheets were even more stained than Prompto's clothing. Guilt washed over him when he realized that, and he hurried over to Noctis' side, letting the door swing closed behind him.

"Uh... sorry about that, I-"

Noctis shook his head no. "Don't worry about it. I should've warned you about this before. Or Izunia should have. _Someone_ should have." He heaved a sigh, putting the bottom sheet into the washing machine.

Leaning down, Prompto piled up the dirty sheets, folded them, then set them in the corner of the bed. "But I ruined your sheets. And these clothes you gave me. I didn't mean to, Noct, I was just-"

Once the sheet was loaded into the washing machine, Noctis turned around, placed a hand on each of Prompto's shoulders, then pulled him in for a hug. "You didn't know what was happening, Prom. It's fine. You should've seen me the first time it happened. I was ten, and I was sleeping. I fell to the floor and broke my nose. My dad tried to catch me, but I just fell too fast," he muttered, his lips quirking into a fond-but-sad smile.

Prompto still felt guilty. He stepped back, turning his head and glancing at the table where Noctis had set his food. Admittedly, he was still hungry. Plus, his stomach still churned and his head still ached with a hangover. So, he gathered his plate up and cut another small bite of the breakfast burrito.

As Noctis quickly washed his coffee cup, then busied himself with refilling it again for Prompto, he huffed a short breath. "So... we're in Leide. Hot air, hot sand, hot booths. Gonna be a fun month," he murmured under his breath as he put cream and sugar in Prompto's cup.

"Hot's better than cold," Prompto pointed out. "I mean. I'm not looking _forward_ to sweating all day and being felt up by grabby patrons, but... I'd much rather have that happen than freezing my ass off and having the same problem."

With a solemn nod, Noctis turned to look at Prompto. "I guess so. Still. Probably wouldn't be so bad if we weren't locked in until he chooses to let us out." Shaking his head hard, he turned around and offered Prompto's coffee back to him. "Here. Like it never happened, right?" he smiled.

Prompto snorted a chuckle. "I mean, except for the fact that we're in a whole different climate, but yeah."

Even as they spoke, Prompto could feel the heat creeping its way through the caravan's walls. It wasn't like he expected it to stay cool. It was a box with windows, pretty much. Still, he'd hoped that they had a little bit longer with the Nifilian chill as a buffer between them and the hot Leiden desert. Prompto glanced at Noctis, then chuckled fondly. The coffee stains were pretty obvious, yeah, but he looked almost like a barista or something. He would have made a cute barista, Prompto decided then. Maybe the cuteness was compounded by the fact that his hair stuck out in every single direction, a byproduct of just having rolled out of bed. Whatever it was, though, it brought a smile to Prompto's face. A real smile.

Noctis arched an eyebrow. "What?" he asked.

"You look like the most disheveled barista I've ever seen," Prompto muttered in reply, stepping forward and tracing his hand up and down the giant coffee stain on Noctis' shirt. "It's a good look for you."

A laugh was Noctis' only initial response, until he looped his fingers through the belt loops of Prompto's pants, tugging him slightly forward so that they were hips-to-hips, chest-to-chest. Prompto glanced up from his chest, meeting his eye, and pursed his lips as he held the new cup of coffee between them. Some of the piping hot liquid went upward in a wave, threatening to spill onto Noctis' shirt, and Prompto couldn't help but laugh a little bit once again, as he turned his eyes back down to watch as the sloshing coffee settled into a calm in the cup.

He flicked his eyes up but didn't raise his head, peering up at Noctis through his lashes. "I know I said it was a good look for you, but that doesn't mean that you should repeat it," he murmured, finally lifting his head.

Before he could tease Noctis again, Noctis leaned forward, capturing his lips in a gentle kiss. It was so innocent, so _chaste_ , but at the same time, it made Prompto's heart skip a beat in a way that was absolutely ridiculous. In a way that Prompto thought was reserved for anyone else in the world who wasn't him. Here it was, though, happening, and he loved every single second of it.

Wiggling, Prompto whined, "at least let me put the coffee on the table before we spill it again."

Noctis loosened his grip just slightly, allowing Prompto some room to lean back and set his coffee next to the plate of food, and the very second he turned back around, he was pulled flush against Noctis again. A gentle laugh floated up from Prompto's stomach as he reached a hand up and tried to smooth it through Noctis' hair. His own probably looked pretty bad, too, honestly. Prompto's hair was always a disaster in the mornings, especially when he crashed like he did last night. As far as Prompto remembered, he woke up in the exact same position he fell asleep in—something that hadn't happened in a really long time, either—and his hair likely stood up on one side to show for it.

That didn't stop him from teasing Noctis about it, though. "You're rockin' that finger-in-a-light-socket look there, Noct. Between that and the barista-looking shirt, I gotta say, crazy suits you." He was barely able to stifle a giggle as he pressed his chest a little bit closer to Noctis'.

After a couple of seconds of just grinning like an idiot, Noctis shrugged in response. "Hey, if I look like a barista who got lost when trying to plug in the espresso machine, then so do you, there, Blondie," he muttered, untangling one of his hands from Prompto's belt loop, raising it, then pushing some of Prompto's hair from his face.

"Do I at least look like a cute electrocution survivor?" Prompto asked.

Again, the grin on Noctis' face probably could have stopped wars in progress. What Prompto liked even more, though, was that instead of responding right away, Noctis leaned in to trap Prompto's lips between his in a lingering-but-chaste kiss. The light smack when they pulled away from each other made Prompto laugh again, as he ran his teeth along his lips, trying desperately to preserve the feeling of Noctis' lips there again.

Shortly thereafter, Noctis nodded and placed the hand that had just slid Prompto's hair from his face on the small of Prompto's back, leaned down, and finally whispered an answer of, "the cutest," in Prompto's ear.

Fuck, the feeling of Noctis' breath against his ear was enough to make him feel weak. Prompto had all he could do not to tackle Noctis to the stripped bed. Somehow, he resisted, though. Why was he resisting? He honestly wasn't sure. Maybe because a part of him still felt like Noctis deserved better than just fucking some prostitute that Izunia had pulled in off the Ghovoras streets. Because, no matter what Noctis told him, that was exactly what he was. Noctis may not have treated him that way, and Prompto couldn't really ever see Noctis _deciding_ to treat him that way, but that didn't change facts.

Just as quickly as that thought appeared, though, it was gone. Where had it even come from? There was legitimately no reason for it. Noctis had never shown him anything but kindness, so what reason was there to think that he thought of Prompto that way? He didn't. Prompto didn't know it, but he _knew_ it. He _trusted_ it. That was what was important.

"S-so…" Prompto's confusion about what was going on in his mind was what finally convinced him to push away from Noctis. Though almost immediately, he regretted it with the way that somehow, even in the middle of the hot desert of Leide, he felt a chill overtake his body. "What do you usually do around here on your day off?"

Noctis watched him for a couple of seconds in surprise, frowning slightly, and Prompto tried to pretend that it didn't affect him, but it did. Still, he stepped closer to the table and picked up his coffee cup, taking another sip and then humming a soft note. Hot coffee. Desert. Maybe, if this happened again, he'd try and see if he could get Noctis to ice his coffee for him. Or he'd do it himself. Whichever.

After setting his cup and plate in the sink, Noctis turned around and sat down on the bed. "Usually, I go and harass Ignis and Gladio. Or Luna and Nyx, or Iris and Crowe. Whoever's not busy," he explained with the tiniest of grins on his face.

Prompto glanced out the window. "Which one do you feel like harassing today?" he asked.

With a shrug, Noctis hummed, scratching his head. "We could go talk to Iris. See if she'd be willing to take in those clothes for you. And then we could go and talk to Ignis at around lunchtime. That way, we can at least eat something that doesn't come from my freezer." That last part was added with a soft laugh.

"Okay. Though maybe I should head back to my caravan and shower first. And we can meet back here? Is that okay?"

Once Noctis agreed, Prompto couldn't help but grin a little bit in spite of himself when Noctis stole another kiss (a goodbye kiss, he claimed, though Prompto teased him about the fact that they'd be together again in a matter of minutes). After that, he stepped outside into the hot Leiden air and fanned himself for the whole walk back to his caravan. Like it would do him any good. His eyes turned to the sky. Cloudy. For the couple of seconds that he'd looked from inside Noctis' caravan, he'd seen a little bit of sun. That was gone, though, and replaced with a blanket of light gray clouds.

By the time he got there, he was pretty sure that he was sweating bullets. He stripped the coffee-stained hoodie off, then his t-shirt, which had also been in the coffee's warpath, then unhooked Noctis' belt and easily shimmied out of the pants that Noctis had loaned him. Yeah, he really did need to get these taken in.

Before he started the shower, he took a glance around his caravan. Compared to Noctis', it was really empty. It wasn't a surprise, of course. He'd had a lot less than Noctis seemed to have when he came here, and Noctis had lived here for ten years, which allowed him to accumulate even more. Still, Prompto couldn't wait for his first shopping trip. He'd buy some food, buy some clothes, and then maybe _some_ accents for his caravan to make it more 'Prompto' and less 'empty, Izunia's influence.'

His shower was cold, and it felt really nice against his warm skin. As he showered, he thought of Noctis, how it seemed criminal, in more than the ways that this place seemed criminal on its own, for him to be stuck here. If anyone here deserved the outside world, it was someone as kind and gentle as Noctis was. Because of Izunia's twisted mind, because of the man's sick desires for Prompto didn't even know what, Noctis was stuck here. Stuck here with a man who hated him enough to beat him up. More than once, apparently.

Last night, the way Noctis had taken care of Prompto when he was drunk and the way that he had taken care of Prompto when he was hung over, spun around in Prompto's mind. Noctis seemed to think that Prompto was worth it. That was something that Prompto didn't understand.

Huffing a single note of laughter, Prompto stepped out of the shower and took a towel down from the closet. The towel was rough. It was like brushing sandpaper along his skin. It was something, though, and before long he was dry. Clean and dry and ready to put on the clothes that Noctis had given him. He stepped out of the small bathroom and looked at the options he had spread out on the bed. Two shirts, two pairs of pants. He would have to use the same belt, but that was okay. He just grabbed two things that went together somewhat well—it was all black, so it would probably still be uncomfortable in the heat, but it was better than nothing—a black graphic t-shirt with some kind of winding ivy design on it in charcoal gray, and a pair of black pants, with his same ratty chucks that he'd had for years—and then slid the belt on.

It was hardly designer, and it was still completely baggy, but it would do. The best part about it, really, was the fact that it smelled like Noctis' room. Like Noctis.

That thought made Prompto smile as he gathered up the rest of the clothes, including the two hoodies, to take to Iris and ask her about taking them in. She'd offered the night before, telling him that clothes that were this big for him wouldn't do. Luna had made a passing mention a couple of seconds later that some of Iris' clothes may fit Prompto, and while Prompto wasn't sure about _that_ , she'd made the offer and told him that she would bag several things up that morning.

A part of him wondered exactly what she had in mind, because while Prompto really didn't have a _problem_ wearing girls' clothes, he wasn't exactly sure he'd look good in them. It didn't matter. He'd try anything not to have to wear the old, ratty clothes that he'd been wearing before he got here. His eyes found the garbage bag where he'd dumped them, and he made a face. Yeah, he'd be perfectly happy never to have to wear those again. Now, it was time to get back to Noctis. That thought made him smile as he turned toward the door and stepped outside into the Leiden heat again.

He barely made it two steps when that unpleasant feeling of ownership washed over him again. It was coming closer.

The smile faded, and Prompto tried to speed his step up in hopes that maybe he could get out of sight before Izunia noticed him. Luck didn't seem to be on his side, though, because before he could get too much further, a familiar voice hit his ear and made him want to duck behind the nearest _anything_ to hide.

"Prompto, my pet! Just the person I was looking for."

My pet. Prompto physically cringed at that as he stopped mid-step. He didn't turn right away, instead trying to level his expression before he did. It was a desperate attempt not to let Izunia know how much he really intimidated Prompto, and it probably didn't quite succeed, but when he finally turned around, he saw that Izunia was significantly closer than Prompto ever wanted him to be. He reached a hand up, touching Prompto's arm in a mockery of the tender touch that Noctis gave. It sent an entirely different chill up Prompto's spine, and he was unable to stop himself from cringing away from it.

Saying something would probably be smart. "Um... h-hi, Mr. Izunia. I was just on my way to meet up with Noctis. We're going to..." He stopped. Did he really want to tell Izunia what his plans were for the day? "We had plans. So... I don't mean to be rude, but..." With his opposite hand, he pointed over his shoulder.

Izunia's expression went cross when Prompto mentioned Noctis, and he furrowed his brows together for the briefest second, before forcing his expression to relax and nodding his head. "Yes, of course, dear boy. It isn't my intent to keep you busy for too long. I merely had a couple of questions. Surely your friend can wait a few moments, hm?"

Prompto felt himself deflate. It was almost a physical deflation. Sincerely, he'd hoped that his denial would be enough to make Izunia go away, but... hope. What had hope ever done for him? Swallowing back nerves before he projected them toward Izunia and let the man know exactly how nervous he _was_ , Prompto nodded his head. "Okay. I... I guess," he murmured. Did he really have a choice?

"How are you settling in?" Izunia asked, still not moving his hand from Prompto's arm.

With a nod and a slow breath, Prompto answered, "fine. Okay. Noctis has helped." As he spoke, he refused to meet Izunia's eye.

Again, the mention of Noctis made Izunia's expression tense. He... really hated Noctis. In a weird sort of way, it made sense. Noctis was the antithesis of everything that Izunia seemed to be. Kind, caring, and he treated Prompto so kindly that Prompto still wasn't entirely sure that he deserved it. So, yeah. In all of the same ways that Prompto thought Noctis was wonderful, it made sense to him that Izunia wouldn't think so. Still, it made Prompto worry. It made him worry about the very real possibility that Izunia would just decide one day that he didn't want to see Noctis' face again and take his soul. Or kill him.

Prompto had never really heard anything about the man _killing_ someone, but that didn't mean it didn't happen. That didn't mean that it _couldn't_ happen, if he hated someone enough.

"Well, that's good. It always makes me happy when my employees help one another." Izunia's smile was just as tense as it had been before. "I do hope that the boy still sees fit to care for you when he discovers that you were a whore, though."

That made Prompto jump to attention. He wasn't sure why. It wasn't like it was false. He _had_ sold his body for money, and in the barest of terms, that _did_ make him a whore. The word, though, the way it sounded when it came from Izunia's mouth, was a lot harsher than Prompto thought it would be. Despite the fact that he knew that Noctis _didn't_ mind, that he didn't even really mind, beyond a bit of jealousy, that Prompto had turned with Izunia, there was still a lingering bit of anxiety in the back of Prompto's mind that made him worry that Noctis would change his mind. And really, who would blame him if he did? Prompto _was_ a prostitute. If he ever made it out of this situation, he'd probably have to be one again. So, the worry about Noctis' mind suddenly changing was a very reasonable one.

No. Prompto had to take it on faith that Noctis wasn't like other people; that when Noctis said that he didn't see Prompto like that, he was being honest. "I already told him," Prompto explained, his tone a little sharper than it probably should have been with Izunia. "Also, I don't do that anymore. So..." So, what? In the back of his mind was a 'so, go to hell and leave me alone,' but he didn't say it aloud. That was almost definitely for the best.

Izunia tilted his head from one side to the other, like he was turning something over in his mind. "Perhaps not, my pet," he murmured, raising the opposite hand to come to rest on Prompto's cheek. "If you ask me, though? Once a whore, you're nothing more." Both of his hands dropped from Prompto's skin then, and down to his sides. "Food for thought while you're tagging along with Noctis today, that's all. I shan't keep you anymore."

Without another word, Izunia turned on his heel and walked away. All Prompto could feel coming from the man was an overwhelming wave of _triumph_. He felt like he'd won. The worst part was, as Prompto simply stood in the middle of a row of caravans with the Leiden heat closing in on him, even _he_ felt like Izunia had won, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *prepares rotten fruit and veggies for people to throw at Ardyn*
> 
> Just in case you, y'know. Want them.


	9. Right Here

_you could stay here in my arms so tight,_  
_we could lay here in this perfect night..._  
_i could love you if you'd let me dear so stay right here._  
[right here](https://open.spotify.com/track/5dNOfdQdGcrwGXeLJdHYBl) ;; betty who

When Prompto wasn't back for a half an hour after Noctis finished his shower, he started to worry. The worry only grew as time ticked on, and there was still no sign of his friend. A couple of times, Noctis looked out the window to see if Prompto was on the way, but there was no sign, still. That was when he was hit with a dilemma. Did he want to go and look for Prompto, and run the risk of coming off weird and creepy? Or did he _not_ want to, and have to deal with the worry of Prompto having been cornered by Izunia? It was a significant risk, and one that Noctis didn't want to take.

That was how he rationalized it to himself. He nodded, before stretching his shoulders just slightly and hurrying toward the front door of his caravan.

It ended up not being a long search. Noctis opened the door, and immediately, he was overcome with a feeling of disappointment, of sadness, of shame. It almost felt like a physical wall that hit him from the front. It was strange. Really strange, actually, because he'd never physically felt an emotion hitting him like that before. He wasn't feeling those things himself before he walked outside, and now he knew that Prompto had empathy that could sometimes project his emotions outward, rather than just reading them inward. Could Noctis let himself follow it? It wasn't his own, of that he was pretty sure.

So, he did. He took off in a jog toward Prompto's caravan, ignoring the Leiden desert heat as it beat down on him. It was about halfway there when he spotted Prompto, standing right in front of his own caravan, staring and blinking after a retreating Izunia. Izunia swung one of his jackets up and over his shoulder, and Noctis was pretty sure that he could hear whistling. Like he was happy with himself. Prompto, on the other hand, instantly turned and stared down at the ground.

Immediately, Noctis felt a wave of anger overtake him, but he tried to push it aside before he got too close to Prompto. He didn't want his friend to pick up on it, although maybe anger would have been better than what it seemed like he was feeling at the moment. After delivering a sharp glower at Izunia, he shook it off and tried to play it cool as he approached Prompto. It was easy to stow his anger when he saw his friend's posture. Prompto looked completely defeated. Sad. Maybe a little bit scared. If Noctis hadn't wanted to ruin Izunia's existence before now, this would have done it.

It took considerable effort, but Noctis managed to cool himself off before he spoke up. "Prom?" he murmured from where he stood, several feet behind Prompto.

In a jumping motion, Prompto turned toward him and almost tripped down into the sand. "I... hey Noct. I, um... I just ran into Mr. Izunia. Sorry it took me so long. Um... he just..." He trailed off, staring down at the ground and heaving a heavy sigh.

Noctis sort of recognized this expression. It was one that he'd worn a couple of times over the past couple of days, when he'd mentioned things about his past, or when he talked about Izunia in general. He was uncomfortable, that much was obvious. Had Izunia said something? If the way he glanced back at the pair of them before turning a corner toward his office was any indication, he was _definitely_ not happy. Noctis wasn't surprised.

Placing a hand gently on Prompto's shoulder, Noctis promised, "don't worry about it," he reassured Prompto. "Do you wanna go back to my caravan or something, before we go and see Iris? You look like you're upset."

Prompto looked at him in surprise again, then swallowed nervously. "I..." It looked like he was turning it over in his head, like he was considering his options, and then he finally nodded his head. "Yeah. Yeah, I think I do. Is that okay? I know you said you wanted to go see your friends and everything, and so do I. I just... that really... he said..." He paused every time, frowning and staring down at the ground.

Without hesitation, Noctis reached the other hand out and placed it on Prompto's arm. Surprisingly, though, Prompto actually cringed away. Noctis blinked, pulling his hand back, then slowly letting it fall to his side. "S-sorry. I didn't mean to-"

Frowning, Prompto shook his head. "I know. I know, I... it's just..." With the arm that held the clothes that Noctis had given to him, he hugged himself a little bit tighter, before looking up at Noctis miserably. "Can we... can we get inside? I don't want to talk about it out here."

Noctis nodded. "Yeah, of course. Come on."

A part of him wanted to reach out and wrap an arm around Prompto's shoulders, but the way that Prompto had ducked away from his touch the last time he'd tried told Noctis that it might not have been welcome. He hesitated, before stuffing his hands into his pockets and glancing at Prompto. "Here. Let me carry that stuff for you, okay?" he asked, offering an arm out for him to drape the clothes in his arms.

The way Prompto stared at him made him worry a little bit more. Like they were right back to the way they'd been that first evening, with Prompto still scared of Noctis or something. It was reasonable. Of course it was. They really _were_ still new acquaintances, new friends. Still, it bothered him a little bit more than he was willing to admit. He watched as Prompto finally draped the clothes over Noctis' arm, and then flashed him a smile that was about five thousand times weaker than the ones he had given last night.

"They're just clothes," he murmured, but despite that, he smiled a tiny smile as Noctis pulled them back to his chest.

Shrugging his head to the side, Noctis started to lead the way back to his caravan. "Too late now," he half-smiled.

That smile was a little bit closer to the one that Noctis was used to. It widened just slightly, and Prompto walked just a tiny bit closer to him, but he still looked like he was a little bit upset. As they walked, he glanced over his shoulder a couple of times, like he expected Izunia to rush up behind them or something. As much as Noctis wanted to tell him that it wouldn't happen, he couldn't, and that bothered him more than he was willing to admit. Internally, though, he found himself promising his friend that if Izunia _did_ come up behind them, he would do whatever he could to deflect the man's advances. Even _if_ it went against the promise that he'd made to Prompto a little while ago.

When they got to his caravan, Noctis opened the door and stood aside so that Prompto could get inside. The washing machine was still running, washing the bed sheets from where they'd been covered with coffee a little while ago. He watched as, even though he still looked miserable, Prompto still walked over to the bed and pushed himself onto it, butterflying his legs out the same way he usually did. Except, in a stark contrast to every other time they'd gotten to this point, he simply stared down at his hands where they were folded in his lap. The smile was gone, and in its place was a whole pile of sadness.

"Prompto... what happened?" Noctis asked, in hopes of finding his way through the sadness.

Prompto looked up at him, worry spreading across his face as he pulled in a deep breath and then let it out. "Izunia," he started, like it was enough explanation on its own. It was, honestly, but he continued all the same. "When he cornered me, he... he had his hand on my arm and the other one on my face. And then... and then he told me that I'd never be anything more than a-" He stopped short, frowning as he glanced down at his hands.

Honestly, though, he didn't even need to finish. Noctis set the clothes down on the table and crossed the room, with every intent to scoop Prompto in his arms, hug him, and tell him that Izunia was just trying to get to him. It had worked, though, and honestly, sometimes pointing things like that out did more harm than good. Noctis closed his hands tightly, his fingernails digging into his palms as he sat down on the bed next to Prompto.

Rather than pointing out Izunia's intentions, Noctis instead said, "I don't think that," in a quiet tone. "I don't think anyone who met you last night thinks that." After a pause, he asked, "do you think that?"

The silence, and the way Prompto still just stared down at his hands was more of an answer than anything else Prompto could have said. Noctis frowned, reaching out, then hesitating. Before he could pull his hand back, though, he realized that being so hesitant—even if it was because Prompto had flinched away from him a little while ago—was probably only serving to reinforce his insecurities and make him believe what Izunia said all the more. So, even though he was nervous that he was overstepping somehow, he reached out his hand, and placed it on top of Prompto's two where they sat in his lap.

"Hey," Noctis murmured, sliding his thumb over Prompto's hands. "To the people who matter? What you did, what you _had_ to do, isn't important. What's important is the person you are."

Prompto turned to look at him, his eyes nervous, as he clasped his hand around Noctis'. "Right, but... once a whore, I'm nothing more. That's... that's what he said." He puffed a breath out, before finally turning his hand over and actually sliding his fingers in between Noctis'. It was a simple motion, but after cringing away from Noctis' touch like he had moments ago, Noctis noticed the significance.

The trust was still there. Noctis pulled their twined hands so that they rested between them, not on either lap; nowhere that it might have seemed sexual. It would probably take away from what he wanted to say. "That's because he's trying to get you to sleep with him," he murmured, unable to hide the seething in his tone. "You're more than that. You're _not_ that. Don't call yourself that, okay? Please?"

Shrugging, Prompto glanced down at their hands. "I was, though," he countered.

That was true, sure, but "you're still more," Noctis explained. "You're kind, funny, great to be around, and you're... you're really gorgeous. Like, I wish he wasn't so crazy about you? But I get why he is. Because you're incredible." He huffed a gentle laugh, then glanced down at his knees. "What you were doesn't define what you are."

Prompto just stared at him, blue eyes wide, as a gentle, bashful smile spread across his face. "I still don't get why you're so nice to me," he admitted.

"Because you're worth it." Noctis was pretty sure he'd said it before, but he'd say it again a thousand times if that was what it took to get Prompto to believe it. "Don't let Izunia into your head, alright? Don't let him pull you down. You were smiling before. You looked at least a little bit happy."

With a nod, Prompto admitted, "I was," then flicked his eyes up to meet with Noctis'. "I'm getting there again, though." He slid a little bit closer to Noctis. Now, he was close enough that their thighs were touching, and he let their twined hands rest on top of their legs.

Noctis released his hand, then wrapped the same arm around Prompto's shoulders, pulling him in close and sliding his hand up and down Prompto's arm. "You know what might help more?" he asked. "Going to pick Specs and the Big Guy up, and then heading over to Iris' caravan. It can be like a mini version of the party, just for the six of us-"

"The six of us?"

With a chuckle, Noctis slid his arm from around Prompto's shoulders, stood up, then reached his hand to help his friend stand. "Oh man. Have I not told you about all the romantic entanglements here? Because _let me tell you_ , there's a lot. So much that I might even need a cork board, tacks, and different colored string to tie them all together." He grinned wildly at Prompto, wiggling his fingers in a gesture for Prompto to take his hand.

Prompto smirked back, and the smile on his face made Noctis feel more accomplished than he recalled feeling in a long time. As they headed out of the caravan and to Ignis and Gladio's caravan, he told Prompto all of the couples that he knew. How everyone in his circle—now the circle that he shared with Prompto, apparently—was with someone else in the circle, and he'd watched as Prompto laughed with each new couple Noctis started talking about. He explained that they all _had_ caravans of their own, but Gladio, Crowe, and Nyx didn't use theirs, instead opting to stay with Ignis, Iris, and Luna respectively.

"So, pretty much married, only not," Prompto mused with a grin as he laced his fingers with Noctis' again.

With a laugh of his own, Noctis nodded his head. "Yeah. And then there's the sibling relationships. Iris and Gladio, and then Crowe and Nyx are pretty much siblings. I don't think they're _officially_ related or anything, but-"

Prompto shrugged. "I wasn't 'officially' related to Cindy and Loqi, either, but they were my siblings, too," he answered, complete with air quotes around the word 'officially.' He turned to look at Noctis. "Your name was absent from any of that. Don't you consider yourself family to anyone? Like, in the way that Nyx and Crowe are?" he asked.

That was a loaded question, if Noctis had ever heard one. He puffed out a laugh through closed lips, and then shrugged his head to the side. "I do. But it's more like... all of them. You know? Luna's been like my sister for years, and so are Crowe and Iris, all the guys are like my brothers. It's just..." Pausing, he chuckled to himself. How did he say this without seeming like he was whining, complaining about something stupid?

It seemed like he didn't need to, though, because Prompto spoke up instead, saying, "you feel like you're on the outside sometimes?" and walking a little bit closer to Noctis. "You're not, and you know you're not. But you feel like it..."

Yeah. That was pretty much it. Noctis huffed a gentle laugh and nodded his head. "If I ever told them that, I'd get so much shit. But yeah. Like, I know I'm not on the outside. We're _all_ a family, and we have to be to deal with the less desirable people around here. Like Izunia, and some of the workers who are loyal to him and everything. But, it's hard not to look at them as they're happy and kissing and sleeping in the same bed every night and get jealous." A bit of heat crept up to Noctis' cheeks as he glanced down at his feet. "It sounds so stupid when I say it aloud, I know..."

"I don't think it sounds stupid." Prompto was shaking his head. "I think it sounds like you don't want to feel like you're in the way." He watched the sand as he walked, the way the slight breeze that was blowing through moved it around.

Noctis nodded. "Exactly. And like, they always tell me I'm not, but then I see them kissing or talking in whispers when I'm not right there, and..." And he was jealous. It wasn't like he was _interested_ in any of the others. There had been times when he thought that _maybe_ he'd had crushes on Ignis or Gladio or Nyx, but they were always fleeting, always quick to pass. They were his friends, and he was happy to be their friend.

Prompto shrugged his head and nodded. "I think it's okay to be jealous, though. I always felt like that when I was living with Cindy and her girlfriend, or Loqi and his revolving door of boyfriends that he always had." A chuckle and a wistful smile accompanied that musing as he turned his head to look at Noctis again. "Or even when I was living on the street, I'd see couples and families together. I'd literally _feel_ the love radiating from them. It made me so jealous, and I knew that I wanted it, but know that _that_ experience was theirs, not mine." Now, his expression was sad.

Squeezing Prompto's hand, Noctis gently bumped his hip against Prompto's. "You can have yours, though. With anyone you want to. 'Cause you're... y'know. You're something else," he admitted.

 _Something else_. Internally, he chastised himself for putting it like that, because that was way less than adequate to describe what Prompto was. Who he was. It seemed to be enough for Prompto, though, because the sadness was gone when Prompto looked back up at him again. "Thanks," Prompto answered.

As they approached Iris' caravan, Noctis slid their hands apart. Not because he wasn't willing to hold Prompto's hand in front of people, but more because he needed to knock on the door. Prompto stood behind him, looking around at the caravans surrounding them, as Noctis reached a hand up and knocked on the door rhythmically.

Much to his surprise, the door swung open, and when Iris appeared, the whole caravan behind her was covered with clothes. Completely covered. Piles of jeans and t-shirts, piles and piles of things in whatever color Noctis could even imagine. And when Iris spotted them, she breezed right past Noctis to grab Prompto's arm, without even a hello. "Prompto!" she announced. "Just the person I was looking for! Come on in!" Again, as she was tugging Prompto into the caravan, she breezed right past Noctis and all but ignored the fact that he was even there.

It probably would have upset him, if he hadn't been fully expecting her to be eager to see him. What he _didn't_ expect, though, was for Iris to drag him straight to a pile of clothes that sat on her bed.

Crowe peered around the doorway, glancing at Noctis as she picked up a couple of other piles of clothing and put them in a large wash basket. "Startin' to feel second rate over there?" she asked with a wink.

"Little bit," Noctis muttered as he stepped inside and pulled the door closed behind him. "I was only gonna stop by for a sec, then I was gonna drag Prompto over to pick up Specs and the Big Guy with me, but I don't think I'm gonna be able to rip him out of Iris' clutches, am I?"

Even as he spoke, Iris was lifting clothes from the pile on her bed—all plain jeans and shirts that would hug Prompto's form a little bit tighter than the clothes he'd borrowed from Noctis, and all things that he'd only be able to wear on nights and weekends—and it made Noctis smile in spite of himself. He was an inch or two taller than Iris, but he was just as thin. Noctis may not have been an expert, but even to his inexperienced eyes, it looked like everything she was holding up would fit him. He looked a little bit overwhelmed by it all, though, as he glanced down at a green shirt that she was holding up to his chest.

Crowe's voice caught his attention again. "Muscles and Poindexter are already on their way over. Poindexter's bringing his sewing machine, and then the Moogle's gonna fix up those clothes that you gave Freckles." She set the full laundry basket in the corner of the room. "I don't think they're gonna matter much in the grand scheme of things, though, 'cause the Moogle's already just about got him decked out for the rest of his natural life."

From across the room, Iris announced that, "I buy my jeans a little long sometimes, because I like to roll 'em up, so these should fit you perfectly," and held a pair of medium blue jeans up to Prompto's hips.

"Besides, all she ever wears is skirts. Buys jeans that're too long for her, never wears 'em, complains about having nothing to wear." Despite the tease in her words, Crowe was smiling fondly at her girlfriend. "Pretty sure it's just an excuse to wear my stuff, but I never complain. There's something nice about seeing her in something other than miniskirts once in a while."

Iris stuck her tongue out, smirked, then turned her attention back to Prompto. "You should take these into the bathroom and try 'em on. Or try 'em on in here and we can all go outside and wait for Iggy and Gladdy. Or something. But you should totally try 'em on, because I think you'll look about nine thousand times better in stuff that'll fit you than the big stuff that Noct lent you," she announced, waving her hand dismissively in Noctis' direction.

With a laugh, Noctis turned his head to Crowe. "How much coffee has she had this morning?"

Smirking, Crowe replied, "too much. I love hyper Moogle, though. Way better than grumpy Moogle or sad Moogle," she mused, getting to her feet and grabbing Iris by the hand to tug her in for a light kiss. "Easy on the newbie, 'kay? You're gonna overwhelm him." She pressed her lips gently to Iris' nose.

When Iris turned away, Noctis' brow furrowed. It was a silly tradition, but something that the group of them had done for generations. Something that Noctis' dad had done when Noctis was a kid. Every time someone touched or kissed or pressed against someone else's nose, Noctis' dad would always say some sort of silly noise to him like 'boop' or 'beep' or something like that to make Noctis laugh. It was something that he'd kept going since he was a kid, so with a teasing smirk on his face, he looked at Iris and rolled his hand like he was trying to lead her.

"What?" she asked, arching her eyebrow.

Noctis shrugged. "You didn't boop," he reminded her.

Her expression changed then, to one of incredulity, as she visibly and teasingly dropped her shoulders. "Are you kidding me, Noct?" she asked with a pursed-lipped smile.

Crowe poked her in the side and shrugged her head, too. "The institution of booping is sacred, Moog. He's right. You didn't boop or beep or _anything_ that you're supposed to do when someone pokes you in the nose." Pausing, Crowe looked up at Prompto and pointed at him in playful accusation. "Keep this in mind, Freckles, you got me? Someone touches your nose, long as it's not Izunia or someone-" She curled her nose in disgust- "you say boop or beep or something like that, or else you'll face the wrath of Noct. We're waiting, Moog," she teased, turning her head back toward Iris.

It looked almost like Iris couldn't believe what she was hearing at first. She looked around the room from Noctis, to Crowe, then over her shoulder to Prompto, before grunting an annoyed response and grabbing Crowe's arm and Noctis' hand. "Yeah, yeah. _Boop-boop, beep-beep, a-woo-ga,_ now come on and get out of my caravan so that Prompto can try on the clothes."

With a final glance over his shoulder, during which he and Prompto shared a tiny smirk, Noctis was dragged out of the caravan and back to the hot Leiden morning. Iris had set up a tiny table for outdoor meals, with a moogle umbrella that covered most of the table and several chairs for them all to sit in. Noctis took a seat under the umbrella and leaned forward onto the table.

"Can't believe you already went through all your clothes for stuff for Prompto," Noctis teased her as he made himself comfortable.

Iris shrugged. "Why wouldn't I? When he showed up, he really looked like he needed friends. Iggy kept mentioning how he wants to invite Prompto over for dinner a few times, too, so he can eat some real food, instead of what you probably have in your freezer," she teased Noctis with a point of a finger gun in his direction.

Snorting a chuckle, Crowe nodded her head. "Yeah. Wouldn't be surprised if Poindexter's bringing half of what he's got in his fridge with the plan to make some lunch for him." She pointed over her shoulder and into Iris' caravan.

As though summoned by the mention of their names, Ignis and Gladio rounded the corner and entered their vision from behind Iris' caravan. Luna and Nyx, too, walked behind them. Luna waved a good-natured wave as she approached. "It's been quite some time since the seven of us have gotten together like this without the party being the reason," she mused. "The eight of us now, I suppose. Where _is_ Prompto?"

"Inside," Noctis answered. "Iris went through her clothes and gave Prompto a bunch of stuff."

Gladio set the sewing machine down on the table and then wrapped his arms around his little sister's shoulders from behind. "You're not dressin' him in skirts and whatever, right? Like, he's not gonna come out here showin' more leg than you when I have to beat guys and girls away from you? 'Cause I dunno if I'm ready to see somethin' like that from him," he murmured.

With a smack to Gladio's arm, Iris shook her head no. "No, I did _not_ dress him in skirts," she answered. "Just some jeans and t-shirts and stuff that I wasn't gonna wear anyway," she answered as she leaned back against his chest.

Noctis chuckled and glanced at the door, wondering how Prompto was doing in there. Not that he didn't think that Prompto could dress himself, but Iris had just rushed around him in a whirlwind. Noctis would be surprised if he _wasn't_ a little bit overwhelmed. Still, as the conversation continued around him, Noctis paid half attention, staring up at the door to Iris' caravan and waiting. It was a little bit pathetic, actually, the way he waited eagerly and stared at the door, looking for the slightest sign that Prompto was on his way out from inside.

When it finally came, when the doorknob finally turned, it took all Noctis had not to rush to his feet.

Prompto opened the door, wearing a pair of almost-skin-tight skinny jeans, the green t-shirt that Iris had been holding up to his chest, and the same shoes he'd been wearing before. Noctis looked up at him, and a lopsided smirk crossed his face. Yeah, Prompto looked pretty much the same. He had the same face, the same eyes, the same lips, the same freckles, but the clothes that Iris gave him hugged his body a little bit tighter, showing Noctis more than just a skinny person drowning in clothes that someone else lent to him. If Noctis didn't know, he would have had no idea that what Prompto was wearing was supposed to be a 'girl's clothes.' All he would have known was that Prompto looked amazing in them.

As Prompto stepped down the step from the caravan to the sand, he put his hands nervously in the front pockets of the jeans and looked out around the group of then. "Hey, everyone," he greeted quietly.

Iris had absolutely no qualms about jumping to her feet and rushing up to him. She looked him over, her whole face smiling as she tugged just slightly at the shirt on his shoulders. "I _knew_ there was a person in there, underneath all that extra fabric!" she teased as she walked a circle around him. "Are they comfortable?"

An adorable blush crept across Prompto's cheeks as everyone looked at him, waiting for him to answer Iris' question. "Y-yeah, they fit fine," he answered. "Really well, even. Are you sure this is okay? 'Cause that pile was a lot, and I don't know if I'll be able to pay you back or-"

Shaking her head, Iris shoved his shoulder gently. "Did I ever _say_ that you had to pay me back?" she asked him, poking him in the shoulder. "You're my friend. That's what friends do."

It seemed like Iris' signature smile put Prompto at ease. At least a little bit. "Thanks. I'm still gonna find a way to pay you back, though. Do something nice for you, in return for all of this." He paused, then turned to look at everyone else. "All of you, really. You don't _have_ to do stuff like this for me. You should expect something in return," he insisted, as his eyes finally settled on Noctis.

When they reached Noctis, they lingered a little bit, and his smile went nervous. It was almost like he was waiting to hear what Noctis thought of how he looked; waiting to hear Noctis give some sort of approval. Words didn't really feel right, so Noctis just let his lips curve into a little smile as he looked Prompto over. Iris' clothes really _did_ hug Prompto's body in all the right places. Better than Noctis' had. Noctis could actually see the shape of his body, how even though he was a little bit thin, he was still perfect. With square meals, he wouldn't be _this_ thin for too long.

A whole conversation had apparently happened between the others while Noctis and Prompto stared at each other, and when Noctis finally came back into awareness, he saw Iris turning toward her caravan and exclaiming, "so. I'm gonna go in and get you that stuff for Prom, and then use your sewing machine to take it in. And while I do that, you two-" she pointed at Ignis and Luna, "can start making lunch. 'Cause I'm hungry! K?"

Everyone laughed a fond laugh as, without another word, Iris dashed into her caravan eagerly, but stopped to beckon from the door for Crowe to follow her. When all attention was away from them and back on the tasks at hand, Noctis pulled a chair up beside him for Prompto. With an eager little smile, Prompto moved toward him and slowly sat down in the chair. Noctis couldn't help but let his smirk grow a little bit wider as Prompto slid his chair a little bit closer. A little bit of embarrassment hit him from Prompto's direction, and Noctis couldn't fight his _own_ chuckle that escaped in light of it. Okay, so this time, maybe he did have a little bit of reason to be embarrassed. He'd been staring at Prompto like some kind of love-struck idiot. He _wasn't_ love-struck, of course. It was way too soon for that. He'd only known Prompto for a couple of days.

Like-struck. That's what he would call it. He was completely and hopelessly like-struck.

"You look great," Noctis whispered quietly to Prompto as he cast him a sidelong glance. "Way better than the stuff I gave you. Should've known that Iris would be more helpful than I was." It was a joke at his own expense, but it was true, too.

Prompto shrugged a shoulder. "I dunno. I kinda can't wait until they taken in the stuff you gave me. As long as they don't touch that hoodie. I like that too big on me. It's comfy." There was a sheepish look on his face, too, like there was more reason that he wanted to wear Noctis' clothes as opposed to Iris' clothes, but he didn't say it, whatever it was.

Sliding his chair a little bit closer to Prompto's, Noctis reached down and grabbed hold of Prompto's hand, hiding their entwined fingers behind their two chairs and smirking at his friend. "You really do look good, though. Green's a good color for you," he mused as he smoothed his thumb over the top of Prompto's hand. His skin was smooth and warm to the touch, and it made Noctis feel a little bit warm, too.

As Prompto turned his head and met Noctis' eyes, his cheeks went pink and he pressed his lips together shyly. "Thanks. It'll be nice when I can go shopping for something that isn't hand-me-downs, though. Something that's my own taste," he added, his hand squeezing Noctis' in appreciation.

"Next day off. He usually lets us go when we've been somewhere for a week. Once he's determined how much money we make, and how much he's gonna give us to shop with."

A little bit of frustration, a little bit of worry, cropped up at the fact that Noctis assumed that Izunia would probably give Prompto more because of his weird obsession. In the man's twisted mind, he probably thought that it would help to convince Prompto to sleep with him. Noctis wasn't sure of much, but if what he'd seen when he rushed out to meet up with Prompto a little bit any indication, Prompto had absolutely no interest, even without the promise he'd made. The relief that he felt because of that was a little bit embarrassing. It wasn't like he had any sort of _real_ claim to Prompto—wasn't like Prompto was something that could _be_ claimed, even—but he had to hope that he at least had a little more sway on his new friend's heart than Izunia did.

Mostly because he would never think of calling Prompto a whore. Because Prompto wasn't a whore.

Nervously, Noctis glanced up to meet Prompto's eye. "Do you want to go shopping together? Maybe we can get some lunch, too. Or, just go for a walk or something. It doesn't matter to Izunia where we go, as long as we get back to the carnival before normal closing time." He ticked a shoulder up in a shrug and drew a silly idle pattern on Prompto's hand with his thumb. Except, when he realized what he'd just done, he froze.

It sounded like he'd... had he just _asked Prompto on a date_? It made sense, Noctis guessed. They'd spent a majority of the last night making out, and slept in the same bed together. Maybe it was a little bit reverse order, but a date wasn't so bad. Was it? Except, now that he'd asked, he felt really stupid. Like he'd overstepped, and assumed way too much by thinking that Prompto would want to spend the day with him _outside_ of this place.

"I mean... you can obviously say no. It's not like I'm gonna force you to spend time with me or anything. I just..."

Prompto glanced down at the table for a second, let a tiny smile creep its way across his face, before turning to glance back at Noctis and asking, "Noctis Caelum, are you asking me on a date?" in a hushed tone.

There were one or two different ways that Noctis could answer this question. He could deny it—he could insist up and down and six ways from Sunday that he _wasn't_ asking Prompto on a date—or he could tell Prompto that yes, he _had_ been asking for a date. The more he thought about it, the more he thought that maybe it was the truth. What was so bad about saying it if it _was_ the truth?

Well, there was the fact that Noctis couldn't recall ever having _been_ on a date before. He'd been in this carnival for ten years. Being stuck in a place like this and only seeing people who seemed to be paired off didn't really offer many opportunities for dating. Plus, there was the fact that he wasn't exactly sure where to _take_ Prompto in Leide. Usually, he just shopped when he was here. Shopped, then came back to his caravan for the rest of the day to sleep. Still, Prompto knew Leide at least a little bit. So, maybe he'd have some idea. So, throwing caution to the wind, Noctis turned his head and glanced at Prompto nervously.

Okay, so maybe he hadn't thrown caution _completely_ to the wind.

"What if I was?" Noctis finally asked. "Would you say yes?"

With an ever-growing smile on his face that threatened to make Noctis weak in the knees, Prompto nodded his head. "I think I would, yeah. If you were asking, anyway."

Noctis nodded. "Then... I was," he admitted with a soft and embarrassed chuckle.

"Then yes," Prompto answered.

The pair of them just grinned at each other, silly, stupid smiles as they tried to stealthily hold hands behind the chairs they sat in. Whether or not anyone noticed, Noctis figured that he'd never know. Iris, when she stepped out of her caravan, called out and tore their attention from one another. "Hey, Prom! Can you c'mere?" she asked. "Wanna get exact measurements on your hips and chest and shoulders so I can make these _extra_ comfortable for you!"

Prompto laughed a soft note, before giving Noctis' hand a gentle squeeze, dropping it, then leaving his seat. "The call of the seamstress," he half-smiled.

Noctis laughed. "Can't ignore it," he agreed.

As Prompto crossed the space between them and Iris, Noctis couldn't help but take a quick little glance down at his ass and let a tiny little grin come across his face. Red quickly swept across in its place when Crowe gave him a knowing smirk from where she sat a few feet away, then shook her head, looking down at the sand. Noctis didn't care, though. She could tease him all he wanted, because he and Prompto had a _date_ next week.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a few more chapters pre-written for this, but after I get them posted, this fic will be on hiatus for a little while! ♥


	10. You Set Me Free

_there's a will, there's a way,_  
 _sometimes words just can't explain._  
 _this is real, i'm afraid._  
 _i guess this time there's just no hiding, fighting; you make me restless..._  
[you set me free](https://open.spotify.com/track/07OHoJaoA9JqyV026xNIES) ;; michelle branch

Noctis had never been to Longwythe before. Most of the time, when shopping trips took place here, Noctis would skip out and save his income for the next trip. The Leiden town was so much smaller than most of the other cities they went to. Noctis liked smaller towns, though. Not _really_ small towns like Cauthess, but places like this, where there were still people around but the town likely never saw much of a crowd. If he ever had the choice for a place to live, he would probably choose a place like this, or to live back in Insomnia. Insomnia would probably be first, but this would be a close second.

His date with Prompto was going well so far. The pair of them had just spent a little while at a clothing store, where Prompto had bought one outfit—it was all he could really afford with the money Izunia had given him—and Noctis carried the bag with the new clothes over his shoulder as the pair of them walked down the street toward a coffee shop.

The small line of stores was kind of quaint. It had a little bit of everything that people needed. A drugstore, a small clothing shop, a department store, several small restaurants—some of them were big name chains and some of the others were small mom and pop places—and a coffee shop at the end. The coffee shop was their next goal. They'd been here since Noctis had rolled out of bed at noon, and they still had a couple of hours before they needed to head back to the carnival, so a quick snack and a cup of coffee would be the end of their date.

Or at least the end of their time outside of the carnival. They'd both agreed to hang around in Noctis' room when they got back and have dinner or watch a movie or something.

Noctis turned to glance at Prompto as he looked his camera over. He seemed pleased to have finally been able to afford film when they walked through the drugstore—so much so that he'd spent more gil than he had on clothes to _buy_ the film—and now he was taking pictures of every single thing they passed. Shops and interesting signs, a couple shots of Noctis that he'd excused as 'marking down the memory of their first date' and then a couple more where he'd leaned in close to get a shot of the two of them together. Noctis saw carnival patrons take selfies together on their phones all the time, but since employees weren't _allowed_ to have phones, well, this was Noctis' first real experience with any sort of selfie.

Admittedly, he found himself hoping that he looked at least somewhat good.

Watching as Prompto snapped another couple of pictures of things like a tiny little vegetable cart in the back of someone's pickup truck, Noctis took a look at his camera. It was old. It was _really_ old. He found himself thinking back to the story that Prompto had told him about a camera that his foster father had thrown away in Lestallum. Catching his gaze when he turned to glance at the opposite side of the road—likely for something else to snap a picture of—Noctis quirked the tiniest little smile.

"Is that the camera you told me about? From Lestallum?"

With a slightly solemn expression on his face, Prompto shook his head no. The solemnness faded quickly, though, replaced with an attempt at a conversational smile as he turned to glance back at Noctis. "No, that one was stolen from me when I lived in Altissia," he explained with a shrug. Then, he was unable to keep the frown off of his face, but he quickly replaced it with a smile again when he glanced at the camera in his hands. "This one was a present from my sister. My foster sister, I mean, but I call her my sister, because she pretty much is." He laughed a soft laugh as he stepped a little bit closer to Noctis and held the camera out.

Leaning slightly closer to Prompto, Noctis glanced at the camera, as Prompto pointed at a small space of black on the bottom. Engraved in the black plastic was a message. 'Make sure you keep this with you everywhere, so that you can always keep snapping, okay? Love you little bro, Cindy.'

Noctis managed a little smile at the message as he turned to glance at Prompto. "It's old," he said, and though it probably sounded like it was a criticism, it wasn't. "I'm surprised you actually managed to keep it in such good condition."

The solemnness came back to Prompto's expression, and he nodded his head. "There were times when I almost sold it," he admitted, glancing over at Noctis. "When I was going through a rough patch, when I couldn't find work and Ghovoras was cold, or I needed to leave Altissia a year or so ago. I could never bring myself to do it, though. I'm glad, too. I probably would've regretted it." He turned to look at the camera again with a fond smile as he ran his thumb over the inscription.

"That's good though. It's good that you've kept it with you all this time. Everyone needs something, you know?" Noctis smiled softly as he reached his arm out to drape over Prompto's shoulders.

Prompto nodded, turning his head to glance up at Noctis again. "What about you? You said everyone needs something," he mused as he leaned just slightly against Noctis. "What's your something?"

With a soft note of laughter, Noctis glanced down at the pavement beneath their feet. "It was, um... it was my dad's. He was a strongman and everything, but working as hard as he did for Izunia, for as many nights as he did, he ended up with a really bad knee, so he walked with a cane." As he spoke, he thought back to the way his dad had limped around. How, no matter how many people told him that he'd never walk properly, he was forced to lift heavy weights and do all of his stunts every night. "When they took him to the sanitarium, I tried to tell them that he needed the cane, but... they reminded me that he can't walk on his own, anyway."

A frown etched its way through Prompto's features, and he slid his arm around Noctis' back. "So you kept it," he urged.

Noctis nodded. "It's really nice. Made of ebony with gold and onyx trim. Sturdy, too. And it makes me think of my dad every time I see it." The last part, he added in a very quiet, almost embarrassed, tone.

"No need to be embarrassed about it," Prompto nudged him gently with a shoulder. "Like you said, everyone needs something. And yours is even more important because it was your dad's. I think it's very… how do I put this?" A pause, and he half-smiled as he turned to glance at Noctis, before continuing, "very _you_ that you kept it."

Very him. Noctis couldn't help but wonder exactly what that meant, and his face must have said that pretty loud and clear, if the way that Prompto's smile went from half to full was any indication. "What I mean is… very sweet. And it makes it very obvious that you love your dad a lot," he added, nuzzling his head into Noctis' neck.

That coaxed a smile out of Noctis, and he adjusted Prompto's bags on his arm. "Sweet, huh?"

Prompto nodded.

With a shrug of his head, he mused, "guess it takes sweet to know sweet." Then, he leaned over to kiss the top of Prompto's head where it rested against his shoulder.

As the pair of them arrived at the front door to the small coffee shop, Prompto slid out from under Noctis' arm, taking his camera from where it hung at his chest. He raised it, snapping a picture of the exterior of the shop, and then turned to glance back at Noctis. "I'm buying," he insisted. "Since you like, laid down the law and pretty much made sure that I knew that I wasn't _allowed_ to buy dinner, 'cause you and your super adorable stubbornness wanted to do it, at least let me buy coffee, okay? And a pastry."

Again, Noctis laughed. "How can I say no to that face?" he asked.

Prompto shrugged his lip upward and reached out for Noctis' hand. "I mean, you probably _could_ ," he reflected as Noctis accepted his hand and laced their fingers together, "but you won't. Because you're sweet, but we've pretty much nailed that fact down at this point."

"Why do I get the feeling that you're taking advantage of that?" It was a joke, and an obvious one.

It seemed like Prompto pretty clearly picked up on that, too, because he just chuckled a soft note in response. "Me? Never. Not _intentionally_ or anything, anyway. It just so _happens_ that your sweetness always happens to, you know, benefit me." He smirked playfully at Noctis as he pushed the door open.

They walked inside, and Prompto was instantly enchanted by the way it was decorated. The walls were charcoal gray, and decorated with giant black stars, almost like it was some kind of shadowed galaxy. White lights wrapped around the corner where the walls met the ceiling, more of an accent than an actual utility. They were a nice accent, though. Pretty. The counter spanned the whole western wall, and had stars and planets outlined in string lights on it as well. Noctis probably should have expected the galactic theme after seeing the sign and the name, 'Celestial Cafe,' but it was coming as a pleasant surprise now. As was the way that Prompto picked up his camera and snapped a couple more shots of the coffee shop's interior.

"This place is _amazing_ ," Prompto announced excitedly.

At the moment, Prompto was wearing the most genuine smile Noctis had ever seen him wear. It lit up his whole face, and even his _freckles_ seemed brighter. Noctis could feel his happiness, could feel how much he was enjoying himself. It radiated off Prompto in waves that Noctis probably would have felt even without Prompto's empathy, and it made Noctis enjoy himself all the more.

In the corner of the coffee shop, Noctis caught sight of some of the carnival's _less_ pleasant employees—Luche Lazarus and Sonitus Bellum were among two of Izunia's loyalists, who always did whatever the man asked in exchange for preferential treatment—and he became acutely aware that they would need to _avoid_ that side of the room, but that was fine. For now, he escorted Prompto to the counter, watching as the barista approached them and, with a fake smile on her face, took their order.

The girl was probably about ten years older than them, and her pleasant attitude was so fake that even Prompto seemed to flinch at it. Still, they ordered, and once they'd picked their drinks and pastries up—Noctis had ordered an Iced Cosmic Caramel Macchiato, Prompto an Iced Meteorite Matcha Latte, and they ordered a giant Solar Scone to split—they chuckled about the drink and food names all the way to their seats in the front corner of the room by the window.

Noctis smirked, as he sat in a chair across from Prompto. "I love it when places have themes, though. When I was little, back in Insomnia, there was this playground that was Wild West themed. The mascot was this cowboy named Playground Pete, and he had this giant ten-gallon hat, and all of the equipment was western themed. The swings were saddles, the spring chocobos had these plastic saddles with really fancy western designs, and…" He laughed. "I loved that place. Always wanted to take my kids there someday."

"Kids, huh?" Prompto asked as he peeled back the top to his drink and took a sip.

Shrugging, Noctis nodded as he took a drink, too. When he finished, he glanced at Prompto. "I always wanted a couple. A boy and a girl. Two boys. Or even two girls…" he admitted bashfully. "Wouldn't really care as long as they were happy."

Long ago, though, he came to the realization that it wasn't possible, as long as he was stuck in the carnival. Especially since, in order to make that happen, he would need to go through a long and arduous adoption process. Considering the fact that he wasn't interested in women, it certainly wouldn't be happening the _traditional_ way.

His eyes on Prompto over the top of his drink, he asked, "what about you? How do you feel about kids?" before taking a drink.

Prompto nodded. "About the same as you, actually. When I was younger, the dream was, y'know, pretty average. Two kids, a cat, a dog, a chocobo, a white picket fence, and a house with a giant backyard, and a spouse that loved me." He glanced bashfully down at the table, then his lips curved down into a frown. "Can't say, back then, I ever thought I'd be where I am now…" he admitted.

"I don't think any of us did," Noctis countered.

Prompto shrugged his shoulders. "No, I mean... when I was living in Lestallum? I used to sell my pictures a lot, you know? I made enough money to have my own apartment, to not have to live on the street like I was in Ghovoras, and back then, I honestly thought that I'd be able to make a career out of it." A bitter chuckle told Noctis that he hadn't had near as much success as he'd hoped for.

But Noctis couldn't understand why. "I mean, I may not have seen anything you did, but... I'm sure you're good. I'm sure you're really good," he suggested.

Shrugging, Prompto sighed and looked down at the table. "Doesn't matter how good I am or not," he explained. "For some reason, they just stopped selling. They'd pick up, then be steady for a little while, you know? Like in Lestallum and Altissia. Places like that. And then all of a sudden, they'd stop and I'd be flat broke. It's why I've moved around as much as I have."

Noctis frowned. "I think this is supposed to be the part when I come up with something comforting to say, but I..." It didn't really seem like there was anything, honestly.

With a bitter chuckle and a shrug, Prompto shook his head. "I don't think it's anything other than 'that's the industry,' you know? Yeah, I'm pretty good at it. I love taking pictures and everything, and I at least _think_ that I'm pretty good at it, but like... there's always someone better, you know? Someone out there that's better than you at what you like and willing to go to even greater lengths than you are to get work. I don't mean like... anything bad. I mean, some of the people who wanted my jobs could probably afford to travel further to get them. There was this one guy who came from a rich family. Came home from a vacation to Caem or Galdin or something like that, with a stack full of pictures. He sold them for like, eighty thousand gil to the guy who always hired me. _Eighty thousand_. I couldn't get hired for a month after that."

Again, Noctis frowned as he reached a hand across the table and rested it on Prompto's forearm. "Luck and rich parents will get you kinda far," he countered. "I mean, for the first bit of my life, I had the last part. My dad owned a whole bunch of businesses in Insomnia and my mom was a really, really talented artist. She's the one who taught me to draw and paint." He shrugged his head to the side.

"Even though you had rich parents, though, I can't ever see you being one of those snotty rich kids," Prompto admitted with a bashful smile. "The Noctis that I saw in those pictures back in your caravan was just happy to be with the people he loved. I like that about you."

Smiling, Noctis reached over to the counter, where there sat a cup full of pens and pencils. He took a pencil out and took a napkin from the bag. "I mean, if I _was_ a spoiled rich kid, I think my dad would've killed me. Like, he raised me better than that. Him and my mom both," he explained as he started to sketch on the napkin.

Prompto tried to get a peek at what Noctis was drawing, but Noctis covered it with his hand. With a soft chuckle, Prompto asked, "not even a peek?"

The only answer Noctis gave was a shake of his head.

Laughing a soft note, Prompto sat back down and put his hands up in resignation. "I hope I get to meet your dad someday," he murmured, as he lifted his camera and snuck a picture of Noctis while he drew.

Noctis lifted his head and glanced at Prompto in surprise. He was still holding onto the hope that maybe Izunia was lying. It was okay. Because of him, Noctis felt a little bit of hope for that, too. "I do too," he answered. "Also, did you just take a sneaky picture of me?"

Shrugging his lip, Prompto hummed playfully. "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. What're you gonna do about it?"

Truthfully, Noctis knew exactly what he was going to do about it, and he was already in the process of doing it. On the napkin, Noctis was sketching a brief and simple picture of Prompto's face. Everything from the perfect curve of his nose to the pout of his lips. The way his hair hung down in his face. And his freckles. Astrals forgive Noctis if he forgot the freckles. Smirking a little bit as he peered up at Prompto again, he shrugged his head to the side instead of answering the question aloud at first. He glanced back down, adjusting the curve of Prompto's jaw on the napkin a little bit, and then nodded once to himself.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Noctis answered instead, with a playful glance up toward his friend.

Prompto chuckled softly, standing and trying to sneak another peek at Noctis' sketch. "Yeah! That's why I keep trying to look," he pointed out, then plopped back down in the chair and pouted dramatically when Noctis wouldn't let him get a look at what he was drawing. "Not fair. I was at least gonna let you see my pictures when I get them developed!"

Flicking his eyes upward and getting another quick glance at the curvature of Prompto's cheeks, Noctis chuckled. "You can see it, but not until I'm done," he insisted, adding another couple of freckles to the bridge of Prompto's nose. "And as long as you promise not to laugh at me, because it's pretty rough. Okay?" This time when he looked up, he met Prompto's eyes, gently and silently pleading with his friend.

"I wouldn't," Prompto insisted. "Because I'm sure it's good."

The pair of them fell into silence as Prompto fiddled with his camera's settings a little bit more and Noctis finished his sketch. He smiled a little bit wider, erasing the curve of Prompto's lips and making his smile a little bit bigger. Because, as far as Noctis was concerned, he should have always been happy. Smiling like he was right now. The picture wasn't perfect, but it was as good as Noctis was going to get it while drawing it on a napkin. So, he glanced up at Prompto one last time, before wiping away a couple of eraser shavings and sliding the napkin across the table to him.

As soon as he let go, he glanced down at the table again, tearing a small piece from the pastry they'd gotten and busying himself with eating it instead. "Like I said, um... it's not my best. I don't have everything I usually use with me, so I couldn't shade it or anything, but-"

Prompto was staring, wide-eyed, at the picture. He raked his teeth over his lip, his mouth curving into a half smile as he peered up at Noctis. "It this... is this me?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah. I just... I figured, you know, you sneak pictures of me, so maybe I could sneak a picture of you, even though it's not really sneaky." Noctis chuckled softly. "If you don't like it, I can try and redraw it later when I have all of my stuff. I should be able to make it better." Especially with a little bit more time.

Except, Prompto placed his hand on top of Noctis' and shook his head no. "I like it. I love it, actually. You really... you did this in such a short amount of time?" he asked, smoothing his finger along the napkin and then meeting Noctis' eyes.

From Prompto—or maybe, just a little bit from himself—Noctis felt a wave of emotion that he'd been feeling increasingly often over the past couple of weeks, especially when he was around Prompto. It had formed the first night they met as something of a knot in his chest, but it wasn't painful. It was warm and pleasant, and it spread a gentle fluttering through his veins and out through the rest of him. It had him hating the time that they spent apart, and almost counting down the minutes until they were together again. Something that had him wondering if he was going crazy. Usually, feelings like this took _years_ to develop, right? Or at least months. Noctis hadn't really heard of anything like this happening in such a short amount of time. But it was definitely happening.

"I mean, yeah. You watched me," Noctis chuckled bashfully. "Just sorta felt inspired is all."

Prompto huffed a gentle chuckle, lifting Noctis' hand to his lips and brushing a gentle kiss to his knuckles. That really shouldn't have been enough to make Noctis' heart feel fluttery, probably, but it was. "Well, thanks. Do you have any other stuff that you've done back at your caravan? I'd like to see them," he pointed out.

With a nod, Noctis chuckled awkwardly. "Way too much, actually. Drawing's one of the only things that got me through the day for the past few years since my dad..." He trailed off. He didn't really need to finish, though. Prompto knew where his dad was. Breathing in heavily from his nose, he met Prompto's eyes again. "Do you want to get out of here? Maybe go to that Accordan place we saw on the way here to get food, then head back to the caravans?" It was probably a little strange for him to want to head back to the carnival on a day off. Usually, he spent all of his time out, until he absolutely had to go back. As much as he was enjoying himself out here, though, some time for just the two of them sounded even better.

It seemed like Prompto agreed, too, because he nodded his head. "Yeah, alright," he half-smiled. "Let's go."

"Lemme head to the restroom real quick," Noctis nodded, sliding his hand from beneath Prompto's and then standing up. "I'll be right back, and then we can go."

A flash of embarrassment crept through Noctis as he leaned down to press his lips to Prompto's cheek when he walked past. The embarrassment was easily swept aside, though, when he saw the smile on Prompto's face when he pulled away. Happiness. Prompto should always be happy. That had him grinning like an idiot as he walked down the small hallway that led to the restroom.

When he stepped inside, a little chuckle left his lips. Even the bathroom was galaxy themed. The light was in the shape of a giant crescent moon, and the walls were tiled with speckled stars. Maybe he rushed a little bit when he was taking care of his business, but it was to be expected when someone like Prompto was waiting outside in the restaurant for him. As he dried his hands, that brought another lopsided smirk back to his face. Not only had Prompto liked what Noctis had drawn for him, but he wanted to see more of Noctis' art. _I know just the picture to show him,_ Noctis thought as he tossed the paper towel into the garbage and then turned toward the door.

It was a painting of the Insomnian skyline that he'd done a couple of years back when he was feeling particularly homesick. He'd painted it from the view of someone coming inside from out of town, after visiting of his illusions, so everything in the image was as accurate as he could make it from memory. Sometimes, Noctis thought that maybe Izunia kept the carnival from going to Insomnia just to spite him. Just so that he never got another chance to walk around his hometown and remember it properly. It was probably meant to be a punishment, but at the same time, Noctis was almost a little grateful for it. If he _did_ get to see it, then he'd probably want to leave and go home, damn the consequences.

Well, he would have wanted to, anyway. Until he met Prompto.

Funny how one person could change his outlook so much. Noctis felt like, in the last week, he'd gone from having nothing to lose to having everything to lose. A soft chuckle escaped as he glanced at himself in the mirror. The bruising on his face had almost faded now. It was just a faded brown reminder that Izunia always had and always would hate him. That Izunia wanted Prompto. Well, if Noctis had anything to say about it, that was _one_ want that he'd never get. With a resolute nod to steel himself, Noctis pushed the door to the bathroom open, stepping out to return to Prompto.

When he did, he almost wished that he hadn't. Or, maybe he almost wished that he had sooner. A combination of the two, definitely.

When Noctis caught sight of Prompto, anger boiled up from the pit of his stomach. Not because of anything that Prompto had done, but because, the very second Prompto came into view, Noctis saw a pair of familiar faces surrounding him. Prompto was out of his chair and on his feet, side-stepping away from Luche, who had crossed the room and was... Noctis wasn't sure _what_ he was doing, but he was sure it wasn't good. His hand was on Prompto's wrist, and the other on his neck, as he backed Prompto just slightly toward the wall. It was almost like one of those moments in a movie. Red flooded Noctis' vision, especially when a wave of repulsion hit him from Prompto's direction, and he stormed forward. Before he could get there, Sonitus stepped in his way and held his hand out, placing it on Noctis' chest to stop him.

"What d'you think you're doing, Caelum?" Sonitus asked him, his eyes narrowed and his chin raised in threat.

Noctis shook his head no, raising his arm to knock Sonitus' hand away from his chest. "Could ask your friend there the same thing. He's kinda harassing my friend," he pointed out, ready to step around Sonitus and go to get Luche away from Prompto. How, he didn't know. He'd find a way, though.

Again, Sonitus stuck his hand on Noctis' chest. "Can't do that. Luche asked me to wait here and stop you when you came back. You can't monopolize the whore's time, Caelum. Everyone else's gotta have a turn, too." He pushed back on Noctis' chest, sending him back a couple of steps.

Red further blurred Noctis' vision, and he stepped forward again. "He's not a whore." Noctis couldn't recall the last time his voice sounded like that. He honestly didn't know _if_ it had before. What he did know, though, was that if Luche and Sonitus thought that they were going to get Prompto without a fight? They were sorely mistaken. "Get out of my way," he rumbled.

The only thing Sonitus responded with was a laugh. "Please. What're _you_ gonna do?" he asked, placing his hand on Noctis' chest again.

Except, Noctis had a contingency plan this time. While Sonitus held onto his chest, Noctis raised his hand and clamped it to the man's forearm. Calling up the most frightening illusion he possibly could, he yanked Sonitus into it with him. In a flash, they were in a small room that was rapidly filling up with water. Very rapidly. Noctis watched as Sonitus looked around in a panic, his hand falling from Noctis' chest as he backed a couple of steps away. Noctis waited as long as he could, until the water was up to their hips and Sonitus was shouting at him, asking him what in the hell was wrong with him and to get him the hell out of here.

Noctis still didn't budge. The water went higher and higher, quicker and quicker, and without Noctis using his ability to give Sonitus gills like he had for Prompto and those boys the other day, like he was for himself now, the man would be quickly overcome with the sensation of drowning. Noctis didn't care. He watched as Sonitus started gasping for air, and only _then_ did he release the illusion. It came crashing down, and when it broke, Sonitus' hand fell from his chest. Noctis took the advantage while the man gasped and choked for air to brush past him and rush up behind Luche.

"Come on, Prompto. I'd treat you right, you know? And I'd pay you _twice_ what Caelum paid, I bet," Luche purred in Prompto's ear. "Old time's sake! Remember Altissia?"

Prompto shook his head, yanking his arm against Luche's grasp and trying to get away. "Yeah, I remember you _robbing_ me! Leave me alone, Lazarus! I'm not... I'm not _interested_!" he seethed, and the wave of desperation that shot out from him was almost enough to change Noctis' mood. He tried to shake it off, but honestly, desperation only made him all the more determined to get between Prompto and Luche.

With a dramatic sigh, Luche opened his mouth to speak again, but Noctis didn't let him. He put a hand on Luche's shoulder and yanked as hard as he could, trying to separate the pair. It jerked Luche back and caused him to turn around. The way he glared at Noctis, then looked him up and down, probably would have scared Noctis on a normal day. Not because he was actually afraid of Luche—he both was and wasn't—but because of the fact that Luche was so loyal to Izunia that all it would take was a word, a single utterance, and Izunia would probably make Noctis' existence all the more miserable.

Right then, though, he didn't care. He shook his head, then said, "he said he wasn't interested, Lazarus." Maybe, if Noctis was paying attention, he would have noticed that Prompto already knew Luche's name. At the moment, he wasn't. All he really cared about right then was putting an end to the situation.

"Yeah, well. He's also interested in _you_ , apparently, so there's no accounting for sanity. You wanna get out of the way before I-" Luche stopped short when he caught sight of Sonitus. "The hell'd you do to Sonitus?" he asked angrily.

Noctis didn't bother to answer. He clenched his fist instead, and murmured, "I'm serious, Lazarus. Leave him alone," in a rumbling voice of threat. "I don't know how you know anything about him. I don't know _if_ you really know anything about him, but that doesn't matter. All that matters is that he said _no_ , and you're gonna leave before I have to make you."

Rolling his eyes, Luche reached out to shove Noctis out of the way. Noctis moved back, and then without any further hesitation, reached out and punched Luche in the face as hard as he could. He wasn't sure where he impacted, or which one of them he hurt worse, but he honestly didn't care either. A jolt of pain surged through his fist, but that didn't slow him. For now, he didn't show it. Maybe later, when he was out of Luche's sight, he'd be more inclined to show it, but for now, he just kept his fist closed tightly and at his side, in a non-verbal threat for another punch if Luche kept it up.

Behind him, the barista was asking what the hell was going on, and Noctis turned and glanced over his shoulder. "Nothing," he told her. "We were just leaving."

With a witness, he highly doubted that Luche or Sonitus would follow them. Besides that, Sonitus had just barely managed to catch his breath as he picked himself up from the ground. Noctis turned to Prompto, before gathering their food and drinks from the table. It hurt, moving his hand, but he didn't care. With a final grab to the ground for Prompto's bag, he watched Luche carefully as Prompto wove around him to get to Noctis' side, and then the pair of them left the cafe.

The walk to the Accordan restaurant—a small little bistro named Taste of Accordo—was completely silent. As soon as they stepped outside, Noctis' mood shifted from fierce protectiveness to a flood of worry that maybe he'd overstepped some unspoken line. Prompto, too, was quiet. Noctis could feel the waves of worry coming from him, as well as a little bit of shame and embarrassment, and Noctis figured that was probably because somehow, he'd caused it by trying to play hero. A cursory glance over at his friend showed that Prompto was barely even looking at him, instead opting to focus on the ground at his feet. There was no more snapping pictures, no more happy chatter, even as they came to a stop in front of the restaurant.

Eventually, it was Prompto who broke the silence. "Um... thanks, by the way," he murmured quietly.

"It was nothing," Noctis answered, maybe a little too quickly. "I'm sorry I wasn't there when it started. I'm sorry I... sorry I couldn't have done more than what I did."

Prompto shook his head no. "You did enough. Is your hand okay?"

Huffing a gentle laugh, Noctis shook his head no. "Not really," he answered in a soft murmur. "But I'll survive until we get food and then get back to my caravan. I... are you okay?" He turned to glance at Prompto, worry lining his eyes as he tried to catch Prompto's.

When Prompto averted his gaze, that was all the answer Noctis needed. In a quiet voice, just barely audible to Noctis, Prompto answered, "not really. I... I'm..." He stumbled, his voice faltering a couple of times. "There's... I want to tell you everything. I want to tell you like... all of it. But..."

After a pause, he glanced from left to right over his shoulder. Noctis didn't need to be told what he was looking for. He was still worried about Luche and Sonitus showing up, and with good reason. Noctis raked his teeth over his lower lip, nodded a couple of times, and then gestured into the Accordan restaurant. "We can go in here, then get the food, and go back to the caravan. You can tell me when it's just us. I-if you want to, I mean," he offered. Sure, Prompto had already _said_ that he wanted to share everything, but... Noctis just wanted to be sure. He just wanted to make _absolutely_ sure that he wasn't overstepping or anything.

Prompto glanced up to the restaurant, and then turned to look back at Noctis. "I will. I do want to," he reassured Noctis.

After that, Prompto rushed out in front of him and grabbed hold of the door to let him into the Accordan restaurant. Before Prompto entered behind him, he saw his friend take one more glance up and down the sidewalk. Then, he came inside, let the door fall closed, and stared at the restaurant's red rug as he followed behind Noctis.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *dramatic music plays in the background*


	11. Love Me Like You Do

_fading in, fading out, on the edge of paradise,_  
_every inch of your skin is a holy grail i've got to find._  
_only you can set my heart on fire, on fire..._  
[love me like you do](https://open.spotify.com/track/5Nbn5P0TXxtpa39hPzt9NZ) ;; ellie goulding

The whole walk back to the carnival was way quieter than Noctis expected it to be. Prompto was _especially_ quiet, watching the ground intently as they walked back across the desert. Once they were in the gates, it was almost like a guard went up for both of them. It made complete sense, honestly. This was the type of place that you _had_ to be guarded or you could be torn down from any direction. Honestly, Noctis half-expected for the cherry on top of the ruination of their date to come in the form of Izunia showing up as they crossed the park to get to the caravans, but when that didn't happen, Noctis' relief was almost tangible. The pain in his hand had almost completely dissipated, too, to nothing but a dull ache. Noctis almost felt better.

Almost. Until he looked at Prompto and saw the _misery_ that his friend was in. Then, any positive emotion that he may have been feeling completely melted away. Maybe it was the effect of Prompto's empathy, but Noctis didn't think so. He cared so much about Prompto that he just... wanted to find out what was wrong, what was hurting him, and tear it down.

When they walked through the door to Noctis' caravan, and Noctis set their meal on the table, he saw the misery in Prompto's expression. A part of him wanted to ask. A part of him wanted to press the issue and convince his friend to open up to him, but at the same time, he completely understood the hesitation. Luche's intrusion had to be humiliating. Especially with the little scene it had caused. Noctis wouldn't be surprised if, by the time Luche and Sonitus left, they were banned from the coffee shop or something.

As he gathered their food from the bags, he turned to glance at Prompto, opting to open the conversation with an apology, before anything else. Whatever had happened, Noctis' interference probably hadn't made it much better. Worse, probably. So, pulling in a slow breath, he turned to Prompto.

"So, um… I'm sorry," he offered. "I didn't mean to embarrass you or-"

Prompto snapped his head up from where he'd been looking at the floor to look at Noctis in surprise. "W-what? No. No, you… you didn't embarrass me, I just…" He paused, sighed, and then walked over to Noctis' counter. Opening drawers and searching around, he pulled out a pair of forks and knives, before shaking his head hard.

It was obviously difficult to talk about. Noctis pressed his lips together, then offered, "you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, you know. You… you never do, really. If there's ever something that you're-"

But Prompto was shaking his head no. "N-no, I… I should. I think I want to. It's just…" Gliding a hand through his hair, he turned around so that he was leaning back against the counter and looked across the room to meet Noctis' eyes. "It's… it's not something I _like_ to think about, you know? So talking about it… I want to, but at the same time, it's like… how do I even start." He chuckled humorlessly.

"There's no hurry," Noctis reassured him as he gathered a pair of plastic plates from his cupboard. "Whenever you're ready."

Silence draped over the room again, as Prompto helped Noctis dish out their meal. The sky was darkening, and a light spattering of rain started to come down outside of the caravan, so as Prompto set the plates on the table, Noctis opened the trio of windows. One next to his bed, another next to the small dining area, and another in the kitchen. The cross-breeze was nice, and the fresh air made the stuffiness a little bit less suffocating. Noctis wandered over to his small stereo to put on some music that Prompto liked. The Fall Out Boy album he'd downloaded just for his friend echoed through the room, and when he turned back to look at Prompto, he was smiling softly.

As Prompto set their plates down on the table, he mused, "you downloaded this, huh?" with a gentle laugh.

Noctis shrugged and nodded. "You liked it. Figured we could use it as dinner music," he answered as he walked back across the room, but paused at the fridge.

"How'd I manage to snag a date with the most thoughtful person on Eos?" Prompto asked, his voice still not happy like it had been back at the coffee shop, but it was a start.

With a laugh, Noctis shook his head no. "Wouldn't say I'm the _most_ thoughtful, but… just kinda wanted to impress you." He grabbed a pair of wine coolers that Luna had offered to him when he told her that he had a date with Prompto, bringing them back to the table with him and passing one over to his friend.

Smirking, Prompto teased, "trying to get me drunk, huh?" as he accepted his drink and twisted the top off.

Noctis laughed. "Nah. You're a fun drunk, but I figured we could just have the one, but stay mostly sober. There's this old phrase I heard somewhere about not getting your date too drunk to enjoy the evening. Since the afternoon was pretty much shot… I figure the evening's all I've got." The very second he finished speaking, though, a crack of thunder rolled out across the sky. Noctis made a face, then looked out the window just in time to spot a streak of lightning as it cut across the sky. "Wow. So, both the afternoon and evening were ruined by things that I couldn't even stop. Good luck getting a second date, huh?" he mumbled as he glanced down at his meal.

Before Noctis even looked up, he felt Prompto's hand on his arm. When he _did_ look up and meet Prompto's eyes, he saw the smile on his friend's face. "You're definitely worth a second date, Noct. Nothing's been ruined. Especially not by you," he insisted.

With a self-deprecating laugh, Noctis shrugged his head to the side. "Well, I was planning on bringing you to the roof of the caravan to cloud gaze and hope for a peek at the stars, but…" That was pretty much out the window now.

Prompto shrugged. "You could always take me into an illusion where we can actually stargaze. Nothing's ruined." He paused, glancing down at his plate with slightly down-turned lips. "I mean… nothing that can't be fixed."

That was pretty much the best opening Noctis figured that he was going to get. He watched as Prompto lifted his head, turned over his options a couple of times internally, and then before he could talk himself out of it, he just asked. "So… Luche. You knew him?" Instantly, he felt a wave of regret wash over him. If Prompto wanted him to know, he'd probably have spoken up. Noctis, though, was curious.

At first, Prompto just sighed sadly as he twirled his pasta around on his fork. "Yeah. About a year ago. Maybe less, I don't know. I was living in Altissia in this boarding house with a bunch of other people my age. A couple of them were older. Luche was one of them. He was living with this guy he was dating named Axis something or other," he explained.

"Axis Arra?" Noctis asked.

Prompto blinked, then nodded his head. "Y-yeah. I think that's it. Don't tell me he's here, too," he asked, meeting Noctis gaze with a look of pure dread in his eyes.

While Noctis _wanted_ to tell Prompto that no, Axis wasn't here, while he _wanted_ to remove that dread from his friend's face, he couldn't. He turned his eyes down to the lasagna on his plate, but nodded his head. "Y-yeah. He's here," he explained. "I think he and Luche are still together? Or something like that. They came in at the same time." Which begged the question of why Luche was trying to _hire_ Prompto, but that was another matter entirely.

The frown on Prompto's face deepened. "Why weren't they at the party? I... I mean, if I'd seen them there, I would have at least been prepared, and then I could have... I don't know, maybe I could have..." His tone was panicked, frantic. Like the news was something straight out of one of his nightmares.

Noctis abandoned his food, opting to reach across the table and place his hand on Prompto's forearm. "Hey, it's okay," he reassured his friend.

It was, of course, a platitude. Noctis didn't know if it really _was_ going to be okay. For all he knew, now Luche and Sonitus—and probably Axis now, too, once they told him—were plotting to exact some sort of revenge on Noctis for the punch and for the illusion. Honestly, though, he'd prefer for their attention to be on him. As long as they didn't try to hire Prompto again. As long as they stayed the hell away from Prompto. Still, the fact that Prompto was so anxious over it was really unsettling to Noctis. What, exactly, had Luche done to him?

Sparkling blue eyes lifted to look at Noctis, and Prompto sighed, fast but heavy. "You don't... you don't understand, Noct. Luche's... he's pretty much the reason I was in Ghovoras. I mean, not the whole reason. A lot of it was on me and making a bad choice, but..." He breathed in heavy to steady himself, before glancing back up to meet Noctis' eye. "Luche robbed me. He took two of my cameras, almost all of my clothes, and sold them or something. I couldn't afford to live in the boarding house anymore, so I had to sell what I had left and go to Ghovoras."

And that was where he'd been when Izunia had hired him.

Noctis hadn't really been a fan of Luche, to begin with. They'd always been at some kind of conflict when it came to their stance on Izunia. Luche was willing to do whatever Izunia wanted him to, and he didn't even really seem to have any issue with it. Sometimes, he honestly seemed to _like_ the guy, which was extremely difficult for Noctis to understand. Knowing that Luche was, at least in part, responsible for the bad things that had happened to Prompto to bring him here? Well, suddenly he felt even less regret for what had happened earlier that day. Suddenly, he wished that he hadn't stopped at a single punch.

"Wish I'd punched him harder," Noctis muttered under his breath, gently smoothing his hand along Prompto's forearm.

Sighing quickly but deeply, Prompto shook his head no. "I'm still a little bit worried about backlash. What if he tells Izunia? What if... you know, Izunia hurts you again, or something?"

Yeah. Okay, that was something to worry about. Admittedly, Noctis was a little bit more worried about Izunia hurting Prompto than he was about any harm coming to him over it, but either way, backlash was a legitimate concern. "Maybe he won't tell Izunia, though. Maybe he'll, like... be too worried about Izunia coming unglued on _him_." He could hope, right? Maybe that was one benefit—if it could be called that—to Izunia's creepy obsession with Prompto. Noctis hated thinking of it like that, but if somehow it managed to keep Prompto safe, then he was fine with it.

Prompto shrugged a shoulder. "Or he will, and he'll twist it so that you did something wrong," he pointed out miserably.

With a shrug, Noctis removed his hand from Prompto's arm, then slid his chair and plate so that he was sitting closer. "Still worth it," he answered simply as he cut off another piece of his lasagna.

Managing a sort of weak smile, Prompto picked his fork back up and twirled a little more pasta onto it. "You know, in spite of all that?" When he paused to shrug, another crackle of thunder rumbled in the background. "This is still the best date I've ever been on."

"Must not've been on a lot of dates," Noctis murmured around a forkful of lasagna. As soon as the words escaped, he wanted to shove them back in. Gods, it sounded like he was criticizing Prompto's company. Hissing through his teeth, he swallowed the food in his mouth and then tried, desperately, to recover. "I... I didn't mean that you did anything wrong! I... what I meant was, like... it wasn't like we did anything special. Just went shopping and to get coffee, and now we're back here. And that everything just seemed to go wrong. We'd have a good time for a little while and-"

A gentle touch of fingers to his jaw silenced him, as Prompto abandoned the fork from his other hand. "Noct," he murmured, smirking and sliding his fingers down Noctis' jaw until his ring finger traced the edges of Noctis' lower lip. "You gotta stop being hard on yourself, okay? I had a good time, not because of where we were, but because I was with you." A light dusting of pink breezed over his cheeks, and for a second, Noctis could barely even make out his freckles.

Noctis leaned forward, lifting a hand to place on Prompto's cheek, too. Another rumbling of thunder, followed by a flash of lightning, shook the caravan, but this time Noctis didn't let it stop him. He leaned forward, the hand on Prompto's cheek coming up to glide through his hair and rest on the back of his head. He pulled Prompto close, pressing a soft and tentative kiss to Prompto's lips. It was hardly the first time they'd kissed. Probably a dozen, or maybe even a dozen a _night_ since the first time they'd kissed. Still, Noctis was nervous every time. He was terrified that he'd accidentally make Prompto feel like he wasn't important. Like Luche did, or like Izunia did. The last thing he wanted was for Prompto to feel like maybe they were right about him; to reinforce the bad things that they'd told him about himself. As much as Noctis reassured him—as much as Noctis _liked_ him—it wouldn't take much for that to accidentally come off as something else.

So, the kiss was very light, very tentative. It was just a brush of Noctis' lips against Prompto's, but he kept his forehead leaned against Prompto's when it finished, and brought his other hand up to join the first on Prompto's neck. "You had a little bit of pasta sauce on your lip," he joked. Lied.

Laughing, Prompto snaked one of his arms around beneath Noctis', before smearing it in the food on his own plate. He brought it back, then smeared it across Noctis' lips. "Looks like you do, too," he whispered in return.

"You gonna take care of it for me?" Noctis asked with a laugh.

Prompto nodded, leaning forward and capturing Noctis' lips with his own. It was a little bit heavier this time, a more solid press of Prompto's lips against his, and he leaned forward a little bit more so that it was easier for Noctis to reach. When the kiss broke, Noctis' lips found Prompto's finger, which still had a little bit of pasta sauce on it. Dashing his tongue out, he licked it up, before kissing Prompto's fingertip and then lightly, loosely, nipping his teeth along it. It rewarded him with a shaking, shuddering breath from Prompto, who squirmed in his chair just slightly too.

When Noctis looked at him, Prompto had his teeth clamped down on his lower lip, teasing it between them, and his eyes were on Noctis'. "Did you get it?" he whispered.

Answering with words _probably_ would have been wise. Anything but the dumb look that he could feel on his face as he nodded a yes answer and took in a slow and steady breath, trying to level his mind a little bit. "Yeah," he answered. Eloquent. Maybe if he was thinking with his whole mind at the moment, he'd have been frustrated at how he couldn't come up with anything else to say. He wasn't, though, so the single word answer would have to do.

It ended up not mattering anyway, because Prompto leaned forward and kissed him again. Harder and heavier, with both hands grabbing fistfuls of the collar of his t-shirt to hold him in place. Thunder rumbled a little bit closer, but Noctis didn't need any sort of outside interference to make his heart beat faster. Suddenly, Prompto was on his feet, using his hands' position to pull Noctis up with him. Never once, while he stood, did he take his lips from Prompto's, and as soon as he was on his feet, he backed up a couple of steps until Prompto's back hit the wall.

Now, he finally broke the kiss to gasp for a breath to fill his lungs and to meet Prompto's eyes.

The eye-to-eye contact only lasted for a couple of seconds, because Prompto pulled him a little bit closer so that Noctis was completely pinning him to the wall. His hands moved down now, both coming to rest on Noctis' ass and pulling him in closer so that his hips were flush against Prompto's. Prompto rocked his own hips forward, pressing their jeans together and very clearly showing Noctis the outline of Prompto's erection in his pants. Noctis met his eyes again, before craning his head just slightly to steal another kiss. Deeper still, with tongues brushing against each other and exploring.

Noctis was pretty sure that he was feeling more electricity than even the storm outside.

Air. Noctis needed to breathe. Prompto probably needed to breathe, too. They pulled apart, Noctis panting in an attempt to fill his lungs, and watching through half-lidded eyes as Prompto did the same. Air was less desirable than kissing Prompto, though. Leaning his head down, Noctis kissed and nipped an eager trail along Prompto's neck. Eager hands reached down to Noctis' waist to slide up underneath his shirt and smooth along his skin. This time, unlike the last time they were getting heavy like this, there was no bruise to stop it. Well, the bruise was still there, but it faded to the point that it barely bothered him anymore.

When, rather than smoothing his fingers along Noctis' skin, Prompto tugged up on the hem of his shirt, Noctis lifted his arms and allowed Prompto to tug it off and toss it to the floor. Noctis responded in kind, but rather than tugging the shirt up and off right away, he trailed gentle and teasing fingers along Prompto's skin. When his fingertips ran across Prompto's ribs, it coaxed a tiny breath of shaky laughter from his friend.

"Ticklish?" Noctis whispered.

Prompto just nodded, sparkling blue eyes meeting Noctis'.

While he tugged upward on Prompto's shirt, he murmured, "gonna have to log that one away for later." Every inch of skin on Prompto's body that the t-shirt—another one that he'd gotten from Iris, this time a blue shirt with giant yellow flowers on it—touched, Noctis followed closely behind with tickling fingertips. Noctis managed a grin as Prompto laughed again and wiggled around beneath him.

"Not fair," Prompto whispered.

Shrugging his head, Noctis replied, "neither is you being so... you," and tossed Prompto's shirt to the floor.

Noctis was pretty sure that Prompto was going to respond, but when another strike of lightning hit the ground not too far away, and seconds later the power went completely out, words completely died on their lips. Prompto chuckled softly, his hands coming to rest on Noctis' ribs. "Part of me thinks the universe doesn't want us to do this, but... the rest of me says 'I don't care.'"

Admittedly, that was exactly what Noctis was hoping he'd say. Noctis pressed his hips a little bit tighter against Prompto's. "What do you think I want?" he whispered, tugging Prompto's hips forward, too.

"Exactly what I want," Prompto hummed into his ear. "Want you, Noct."

A chill coursed up Noctis' spine at the sound of those words hitting his ear. "You sure? You're sure you... that I'm... I mean..." How did he say what he was thinking? How did he tell Prompto that he was worried about how it would sound? Especially after what Luche had tried to do that day, and what Izunia _still_ tried to do?

Seemingly reading his mind, Prompto tilted his head to whisper in Noctis' ear. "You're not them. Not even a little. You're better." His words were punctuated with a soft, gentle kiss to Noctis' jaw. "Sweeter," a kiss to the other side of his jaw, "and you appreciate me for me. Not just what I was." When he finished speaking that time, he placed his hands on Noctis' hips, urging them to brush forward against his own. "I want you. I can tell that you want me, too," he muttered as he trailed kisses down Noctis' jaw, then to his neck.

"I do," Noctis agreed.

Prompto hummed a laugh against his collarbone. "You can have me. Please..." he whispered.

That was all the encouragement Noctis needed. He moved his hands down to Prompto's hips, smoothing his fingertips along the hem of Prompto's pants and to the button. Unbuttoning the button fly, he tugged down so that they fell to Prompto's knees, and then watched as Prompto pushed them down the rest of the way and stepped out of them. Noctis half-smiled, glancing down between them at Prompto's body, completely exposed in front of him. Astrals, he was beautiful. Still thin, but still gorgeous all the same. He'd just get more and more gorgeous as time went on.

Leaning in and stealing another kiss, Noctis leaned his head down to place soft, open-mouthed kisses to Prompto's neck. "You're beautiful," Noctis whispered against his shin. "You're so beautiful."

As Prompto leaned his head back, more of his neck was exposed for Noctis to kiss, which he immediately busied himself with exploring. Dozens of kisses, some of them soft, some of them a little bit more intense, graced across Prompto's flesh, and the pleasant sigh that his friend breathed was even more encouragement. His hands explored the new skin, gliding down Prompto's chest and to his hip, trailing around the outside and coming to rest on his ass.

"You're beautiful, too, Noct," Prompto gasped out into the air. "The most beautiful person I've ever seen."

Lifting his head again, his lips found contact with Prompto's, and he reached his hands down a little bit, easing Prompto off the ground. Prompto seemed to get the hint, jumping up and locking his legs around Noctis' waist, before kissing Noctis hungrily once again. With his hold on Prompto's hips firm, Noctis stepped away from the wall and walked them over to the bed. Gently, he laid Prompto down, before removing his belt and sliding his own pants and boxers off, kicking them to the side and crawling into bed with his friend.

The very second he crawled up next to Prompto, Prompto crashed their lips together hungrily and urged Noctis to climb on top of him.

Noctis willingly, eagerly obeyed, and then started pressing kisses to Prompto's neck again. To his neck, down to his chest. The sighs and gasps of excitement were exactly what he needed to urge him on even more, as was the way that Prompto raised his hips off the bed, pressing them all the closer together. A lopsided smirk crossed Noctis' face as he pulled back for the briefest of seconds to get a glimpse of Prompto's body. He'd already admired Prompto's body once, it was true. Something about this, though, Prompto sprawled out naked on his bed, his body writhing with every ounce of attention Noctis delivered to him, was even more beautiful, Noctis leaned down, placing a kiss to a single, tiny patch of freckles on Prompto's shoulder, before kissing a trail down his body again and coming to a stop at his stomach.

"Noct... please. I'm... you're driving me insane," Prompto mumbled, laughing a soft breath of a note through his nose.

Noctis chuckled in return, and then leaned over to reach into the drawer closest to his bed. The bottle of lotion that he kept there was usually only used for his _own_ purposes, but tonight... tonight, it would finally get some proper use. Proper. That coaxed another inward chuckle from Noctis. It probably wasn't proper. At the same time, though, there was nothing _im_ proper about it. He sat on his knees, and took the lotion in his hand, preparing to coat his cock, but before he could, Prompto sat up. With a lopsided grin on his face, he leaned up to Noctis' ear.

"Let me," Prompto whispered, before pushing the pump on the lotion bottle and putting a generous dollop in his palm. He reached down between them and with a touch that was far more tender than Noctis probably would have given himself, he smoothed the lotion across Noctis' cock, leaning in to press their lips together lips in a desperate kiss.

While Prompto kissed and while he gave gentle and languid strokes to Noctis' length, Noctis tried to keep his brain from going into overdrive already. His hands found their way to Prompto's hips, and urged his body closer. Again, an angry rumble of thunder filled the room from outside, but really, the vibrations on the ground that shook the caravan only served to make things feel a little bit more desperate; a little bit more intense. Noctis opened his eyes and locked them with Prompto's, before urging him to lay back down on the bed again.

As soon as his back hit the mattress and his head hit the pillows, Prompto raised his hips, wordlessly urging Noctis on.

Fuck, was that hot.

Noctis slid forward a little bit, taking the lotion from where Prompto had left it on the bed and putting a generous helping on his hand. Maybe Prompto just wanted him to do it, but Noctis wanted to make it special for Prompto, too. He'd been taken advantage of enough in his life, and Noctis would be damned if he was going to be just another one of those people. When his hand was coated, he leaned down and smoothed the non-lotioned hand along Prompto's thigh. The hand with lotion found its way to Prompto's ass again, sliding one slick finger inside.

Prompto gasped and wriggled his hips just slightly, glancing down at Noctis and muttering, "wh-what're you..."

The first finger drew outward, and then a second joined it. Prompto writhed again, and made the softest gasping sigh that Noctis had ever heard. "Letting you enjoy this as much as I know I will. Let me pamper you a little bit first, okay?" Noctis whispered, drawing back and then pushing the two fingers in again. Another draw back, and then a third finger joined the first two.

This time, Prompto sucked in a sharp gasp and raised his hips off the bed again, eagerly wiggling his hips on Noctis' fingers. "F-fuck, Noct. Not fair. This is... this isn't fair at _all_. Said I wanted you to fuck me, not... not torture me," he breathed.

"Good torture or bad torture?" Noctis asked, though he was pretty sure of the answer.

With a chuckle that just barely masked a shaky breath, Prompto replied, "best torture. If this is really torture, torture me all the time." He rolled his hips again, then met Noctis' eyes. "Well, as long as you promise to eventually stop torturing me and let the fun really begin."

Noctis hummed a note of agreement. "Think I can manage that." Even as he spoke, he tugged his fingers back and out of Prompto, then huffed a gentle laugh at the way Prompto let out a soft and whining whimper at the loss of contact. "Liked it that much, did you?" he asked, before sliding his hips forward to press his cock lightly against Prompto's ass.

A heavy and shaky breath was Prompto's only initial response, and in the shadow against the darkness, Noctis saw him nod his head eagerly. "Gonna like it more when that's inside me, though," he muttered, rocking his hips lightly and helping Noctis position himself properly.

This time it was Noctis' turn to laugh awkwardly. He reached a hand down between his legs, lining himself up perfectly and then rocking his hips forward slowly. Just a little bit at first. Somewhere in the back of his hazy mind, he managed to remember that he didn't want to treat Prompto like the people who'd taken advantage of him all these years did. That little bit, though, felt so good. With a shuddering breath of his own, he moved his hips forward just a little bit more, burying himself a little bit deeper, and watching Prompto's expression change just a little bit.

It felt almost like the breeze was filled with want. Noctis realized that it was probably coming from Prompto, though, and the idea sort of morphed into fact when he felt Prompto reach up and grab around Noctis' shoulders, pulling himself up so that he straddled Noctis' thighs. With a hand between their legs, Prompto positioned Noctis properly, before sinking down and enveloping Noctis completely in him. Warmth. Pressure. _Fuck_ did it feel good. So good that Noctis _almost_ lost it. Prompto sucked in a sharp breath, too, wrapping his arms around Noctis' shoulders and his legs around Noctis' waist, pulling them impossibly closer.

"Don't have to treat me like I'm made of glass, Noct," Prompto whispered between heavy breaths into Noctis' ear. "You won't hurt me. I know you won't."

That caused Noctis to open his eyes and look up at Prompto. The way his friend's eyes were gently locked with his, the _trust_ he felt radiating from Prompto in empathetic waves, told Noctis that he wasn't kidding in the least. Prompto trusted him. Even after everything he'd been through in his life, Prompto trusted Noctis and Noctis had absolutely no idea what he'd done to get so lucky.

A stuttering shake of his head was his only initial response. "Never," he breathed into Prompto's neck. "Would never hurt you." It was a heavy promise, but he meant it. He really meant it.

Prompto leaned down and kissed Noctis again, slower this time, before rocking his hips just slightly, and that was all the urging Noctis needed. He placed his hands gently on Prompto's hips, holding him in place while Noctis rocked his own hips forward and found his own rhythm. The rhythm had Prompto tossing his head back, arching his chest forward into Noctis' face.

Finally, Noctis released his hips, allowing Prompto to ease into a rhythm that perfectly complimented his own, and then tipped his head up to catch Prompto's lips in another hungry, needy kiss. Gods, it was so good. The noises that Prompto made echoed out through the room, and any thunder, any lightning, felt so distant. So far away that it wasn't even a problem. He brushed his fingers along Prompto's back, slick though it was with sweat, gently nipping at his chest.

"Feels good," Prompto keened in his ear.

Did it ever. Noctis nodded against his chest and then tilted his head upward to wordlessly ask for Prompto's lips again. When Prompto leaned down and kissed him, he sped up his rhythm just slightly, and tried to keep his composure when Prompto responded in kind. Noctis' breath was coming hard and heavy, his hands eagerly exploring every bit of Prompto's skin that was available to him. Even his cock, where it was pressed tightly between them. When his fingers ghosted along the side, all the way down his length, the gentle breath that Prompto released was probably the hottest thing Noctis had ever heard.

Seconds later, though, that was topped by a sharp moan that Prompto let out right after a particularly languid rock of Noctis' hips. Noctis knew exactly what that meant. He tried to repeat the motion, and when he earned another sharp gasp from Prompto, as well as the feeling of Prompto's fingers digging into his shoulder blades, a vague feeling of triumph washed over him.

The sound of his voice whispering, "f-fuck, Noct... I... I can't..." was all the warning Noctis got before Prompto came.

It probably should have been weird to him, the warmth of Prompto's release making the space between them all the slicker. It didn't. Not even a little bit. It felt good. It felt... _right_ , and so did the feeling he felt coming from Prompto right then. It was relief, sure. Release. There was something else mixed in, too. Gratitude was there, but there was an even deeper, even stronger version of what Noctis himself had been slowly starting to feel over the past week or so coming from Prompto. It just made his own feelings all the stronger. It was _definitely_ building up tension and making Noctis realize exactly how close he was. And the way that Prompto's muscles constricted around Noctis didn't help matters in the slightest. All it did, really was urge him all the closer to the edge with every roll of his hips. His breathing became erratic against Prompto's shoulder.

"I'm... I... P-Prompto, if you-"

What was supposed to be a warning, telling Prompto that if he didn't want Noctis to come inside of him, then he probably should move, instead ended up sounding like a sharp series of gasping stuttered sentences. It would have been embarrassing if any part of Noctis' brain at all was devoted to shame. Instead, all he could think of was how good this felt. How perfectly their bodies seemed to fit together and the way that Prompto was absolutely perfect. Absolutely fucking perfect.

A lazy smile was Prompto's only reply at first, and then he leaned down and whispered into Noctis' ear. "You can come inside me. I want you to," he promised, before planting a kiss to Noctis' shoulder.

That was all it took. With a shuddering cry that was almost completely drowned out by a rumble of thunder, Noctis came hard, clutching Prompto tightly and stuttering his hips erratically up and into Prompto's body. He felt Prompto reach up to tilt his chin, and then without provocation, Prompto completely covered Noctis' lips with his own, stealing whatever breath remained in his lungs. Noctis didn't care. Once again, air was less important than kissing Prompto, than holding Prompto. Than just... being with Prompto.

They kissed slowly, lazily, with no desperate need in the situation at the moment, there was no end goal. As they kissed, Noctis urged them down to the pillows. He rocked his hips, pulling out of Prompto, but didn't break their kiss as he rolled off of him and to the side. When he finally _did_ break the kiss, though, the look on Prompto's face was perfect. His lips were curled into the tiniest, laziest little smile, his eyes were half-lidded but fully happy, and Noctis just wanted him to look like this—to feel like this—forever.

"That was amazing," he murmured into Prompto's ear.

Prompto nodded. "That was..." he paused, pushing some of Noctis' bangs from his face and leaning down to kiss his lips gently. "That was the best sex I've ever had." The confession came with a heavy dusting of red across Prompto's cheeks, as he curled a little bit closer to Noctis.

Noctis, too, felt his cheeks heating up. "You really think so?" he asked.

It was a dumb question. A really dumb question. Prompto had _said_ so, so obviously he thought so. Still, of all the things that Noctis had expected Prompto to say, that absolutely wasn't one of them. Maybe that it was good, or okay, or that he wished they'd done it sooner—because they almost had a couple of times over the past couple of days—but to tell Noctis that it was the best sex he'd ever had? That was definitely unexpected. Noctis smiled a little bit wider, the warm feeling in the pit of his stomach spreading out through him again as Prompto nestled in against his shoulder.

"It was. It was the first time that anyone's... that someone's... I'm usually not someone's priority. You know?" Prompto asked, and Noctis could feel his lips curling downward into a frown as he spoke. "You were gentle. You touched me and it felt like every single place your fingers touched was lit on fire. In a good way. It felt like my our bodies fit. Gods, that sounds so-"

Noctis silenced him by tilting his chin upward and capturing his lips in a quick kiss. "Accurate," he interrupted. "It sounded accurate. I was thinking the same thing, how we fit together and how... how good you were at it." There was more that he wanted to say, more that was right on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't. Not yet.

With a little smirk, Prompto mumbled, "weren't so bad yourself," into Noctis' shoulder.

Laughing softly, Noctis pulled Prompto a little bit closer and then tugged the blankets up and over them. "Next time will be even better," he promised.

Prompto hummed an affirmative answer—reassuring Noctis at the same time that there _would_ be a next time—and nestled into his normal sleep position. "Got some tricks I can't wait to show you," he told Noctis.

Tricks. Noctis felt his cheeks heating up a little bit as the thought of what those tricks could possibly _be_ entered his mind. With a lopsided grin, he pressed a lazy kiss to the top of Prompto's head. "Can't wait to see 'em. _Really_ can't wait," he chuckled softly. "Little nap? Before we eat our dinner and finish our date? Maybe the power will be back by the time we wake up."

With a nod, Prompto pressed his lips lazily to Noctis' shoulder. "Gonna be a miracle if you can wake me up, though. Might just end up sleeping all night," he answered, though his words were completely muffled against Noctis' skin.

Honestly, Noctis could not find a single reason to complain about that. He rested his head back against the pillows and closed his eyes. Before long, sleep took him—as it was known to do—and his arms subconsciously tightened around Prompto, holding him impossibly closer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Little_ bit quicker than my fics usually move. ;D


	12. You're My Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _you are my friend,  
>  and no matter what i'm doing,  
> you, you are there for me._  
> [you're my friend](https://open.spotify.com/track/2TjKajatgLgnFnVUFP995s) ;; eels

It was equal parts surprising and not, the fact that they slept through the whole night. Prompto couldn't remember the last time he slept so well. Okay, that wasn't exactly true. Every night that he slept in Noctis' bed had been like this. Comfortable. Safe. Safe was a feeling that he wasn't exactly used to, but he was getting there pretty quickly.

Admittedly, Prompto was extremely disappointed that the power seemed to be on when he woke up. There was the obvious reason, sure, that it meant that they had to get back to work. Beyond that, though, work was not in this bed with his arms around Noctis. So, it meant getting out of bed for that reason, too. Prompto wasn't even sure what time it was when he finally woke up, other than the knowledge that the sky had lightened, which definitely meant that the sun had risen behind the curtain of clouds. It had taken no shortage of motivation—some of which ended up taking place in the shower, where the pair of them took a little bit longer than usual and made good use of the limited space in the small bathroom to enjoy some private time against the wall—to get him out of bed to face the day.

By the time he did get outside to go back to his own caravan and get changed into his uniform for the day, the carnival still hadn't started up. It looked like it was about to, though. The lights were on, but none of the rides were moving, and the gates were still closed.

Most of the caravans around him still had people in them, which led him to believe that it was more than just them that were running late. If they _were_ even running late, anyway. It made sense. Any and all alarm clocks in the area probably stopped running, after all. Prompto honestly found himself wondering exactly how Izunia hadn't wandered around and woken every single one of them up by hand, but he was also glad for it. Who knew what the man would have done if he'd seen Noctis and Prompto in bed together.

Whatever it was, it almost definitely wouldn't have been good.

Prompto looked around as he started toward his caravan, half-expecting Izunia to show up around a corner or walk past him to chastise Noctis for being late to work. Everyone else was late, too, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't find _some_ way to make Noctis' punishment worse. Or make Noctis the only one to be punished. Prompto remembered Noctis mentioning that he was one of Izunia's favorite targets, alongside Nyx and Gladio, and it worried him a little bit. A lot, really. More now than it had back when Noctis had first said it. Yeah. He was pretty far gone. It was official. Shaking that worry off, though, he continued toward his caravan. He was only a little ways away now.

That was when it hit him, though. It was a mix of intense emotion, coming from a short distance away. A mix of sadness, happiness, fear, excitement... they were all coming from the same place. The same distance. It wasn't toward Noctis' caravan, so Prompto almost wanted to dismiss it, but the feelings were so intense that it was impossible to _actually_ ignore.

He turned his head toward the wave, looking around. The parties took place a short distance from here—in a small circle between the caravans—but this was a little bit further away. Biting down on his lower lip, he turned to glance toward his own caravan, and then back in the direction of the strong surge of emotion. He couldn't ignore it. If it was something to be happy but sad about, it had to be a pretty big deal, right? Maybe he could go and make sure that whoever was _projecting_ the emotion was okay, before going back to his caravan to get dressed and going to face the day.

With a nod to convince himself that it was the right thing to do, Prompto turned and wove between caravans. Smaller emotions—many of them were the panic that often went along with being in a hurry—bombarded him from every direction as he passed, but he ignored them, instead focusing on this confusing mixture and following it. Following and following until he came to yet another caravan, at the end of the massive group of caravans. All he saw beyond it was a massive expanse of desert, and Longwythe, way in the distance. Prompto worried that maybe this was a useless mission—he wasn't about to go and knock on someone's door to ask them if they were okay, after all—until he heard the sound of muffled tears coming from the other side of the caravan.

Maybe it still should have been a dead end, but the voice—the tone and timbre—of the tears was vaguely familiar to him. Between tears, too, the person muttered words in a worried tone. That voice, Prompto couldn't mistake.

"Luna?" Prompto called as he approached the voice. "Is that you?"

The tears stopped abruptly, almost like Luna was forcing herself to choke them back. "Oh!" she called out in surprise. "Oh, I... y-yes, it's me. Give me a moment, I'll be right there, Prompto!" The tone of her voice was trying desperately to project cheer, mostly because Prompto was pretty sure that she didn't know that he was an empath.

He frowned slightly. "I heard you crying," he told her, so that she didn't bother with the charade anymore.

For a few seconds, the only response he got was silence. A long silence, that made Prompto wonder if he should leave. He didn't, though. Instead, he walked a little bit closer to the caravan. Mixed in with the rest of the emotions that he'd picked up was a little bit of embarrassment, a little bit more sadness. A little bit of secrecy. It was pretty obvious that Luna didn't want Prompto to know that something was wrong, but if it was wrong enough to have her hiding behind her caravan and crying, it had to be pretty serious. It had to be enough for someone to worry about her.

Prompto wasn't sure what it was that had her fighting against the instinct that would have told him to respect her privacy and leave. Maybe it was because he was still feeling like he owed the universe a giant thank you for whatever cosmic interference had allowed Noctis into his life. Whatever it was, though, it had Prompto stepping forward and peering around the caravan. He was surprised to see Luna sitting in the sand, her legs out in front of her, crossed an ankle over the other ankle. She looked up at Prompto, wiping her eyes with the heel of her palm, and then looked back down at the sand.

"I apologize," Luna muttered miserably. "I didn't mean to alert you."

Shaking his head, Prompto crossed the small space between them, stopping a few feet away. "Don't sweat it," he reassured her. "You look like you need some company, anyway. Can I sit?" He motioned down to the sand in front of Luna.

Initially, it looked like she was going to refuse. If she did, Prompto would have left. He probably would have gone to get Nyx or Iris or Ignis, since she knew them better than she knew him, and sent them to check on her. It turned out to be unnecessary, because Luna flicked her eyes up to look at him and nodded a nervous nod. "I suppose I can't stop you," she answered. "Should you not be going to start your shift, though? Ardyn doesn't take kindly to people starting late."

Ticking his shoulder up in a shrug, Prompto plopped down into the sand and crossed his legs at the knee. "Not too worried about it. Maybe I should be, but... my alarm clock didn't go off." That wasn't a lie, as much as it was. Noctis' alarm clock _hadn't_ gone off. "I don't even know what time it is right now," he added with a gentle chuckle.

Luna laughed softly, the smile on her face becoming all the more genuine as she raised her eyes to look at Prompto. "That's true, I suppose. And I suppose, the only way you could _truly_ know was if someone were to have a wristwatch on, glance down, and then tell you that it's-" She paused to glance at a silver watch on her wrist- "quarter to eight. If that _were_ the case, it wouldn't be as though you were _actually_ late yet, yes?"

That coaxed a little laugh and a nod out of Prompto. "True. That would mean that I had an hour and fifteen minutes to just hang around," he answered. "Far as I know, though, no one's got a wristwatch on them." He grinned conspiratorially at her.

"Shame, that," Luna retorted, then folded her hands back in her lap and glanced down at them.

Momentarily, the sadness had been pushed away, replaced instead with a sense of amusement at the back-and-forth she'd shared with Prompto. As quickly as it went away, though, it came back about thirty-fold. Luna stared at her folded hands like she was holding something that had all the answers, but as far as Prompto had seen when she'd _unfolded_ her hands, she hadn't been holding anything. Something was bothering her. Though it was something with mixed undertones, because Prompto had _definitely_ felt a little bit of happiness mixed in with the worry, fear, and sadness, too. What could be causing it?

Prompto tried to meet her gaze, projecting the same comfort that he'd projected at the ledge in Niflheim with Noctis a week ago. "Hey. What's wrong?"

At first, Luna looked like she was going to resist. She sniffled, blinking hard as she looked up to meet Prompto's gaze, and when her eyes opened back up they glistened again. "It's..." She paused as soon as she started to answer, before glancing down at the sand again. "I'm not sure if it's something that's _wrong_ or something that's... I honestly have no idea where to begin."

"Wherever you feel comfortable starting. I won't pry."

Luna sighed. She nodded once, then looked up at her caravan. "Honestly, it isn't even a long story. It's not as though I'm..." With a sigh, she met Prompto's eye again. "It's not something I've told anyone. I wasn't even _going_ to tell anyone, but I realize how silly that is, because eventually the news... the news would get out." That part was added with a bitter smile.

Someone would figure it out. Prompto tilted his head to the side, his eyebrows furrowing in concern for his new friend. "So, maybe you should tell us? Or at least tell me?"

With a soft huff of half-hearted laughter, Luna nodded. "Yes, you're correct, of course. I'm just... it's not as simple as just 'tell someone and then it goes away.' This won't go away. It can't. Well..." A pause. "It can. But it also can't. I won't let it," she murmured.

This sounded incredibly cryptic, and Prompto couldn't help but worry a little bit more as he watched her turn her options over in her head. He was torn. He wanted to ask her what it was, what was so hard to talk about for someone who had seemed as open as Luna had seemed at the party a week or so ago, but he also had promised that he wouldn't pry. Try as he might, he couldn't keep his curiosity from seeping out into the air around them, and it seemed like Luna picked up on it. She smiled, a little bit self-deprecatingly, and then brushed a hand through her hair.

"You're curious. I realize that I'm being cryptic," she told him. "It's unintentional, I assure you. I'm merely trying not to panic too much, which is evidently translating into cryptics."

Prompto shook his head, shrugging it off with a gentle wave of his hand. "Don't worry about it. Whatever it is, it's obviously bugging you enough that you're sitting out here crying. So, I imagine you're not being cryptic just to mess with me. I told you that I wouldn't rush you. Whatever you feel comfortable telling me, whenever you feel comfortable saying it," he reminded her.

The smile on her face became a little bit more genuine, then. "You're a very kind person, Prompto. I see why Noctis gravitated toward you," she told him.

A dusting of pink flooded Prompto's cheeks against his will. How had the topic changed from being about Luna and whatever was bothering her to being about Prompto and whether or not Noctis had gravitated toward him? Prompto had thought that it was him who had gravitated toward Noctis. That he'd latched on and refused to let go. He still refused to let go, maybe now more than before, but how obvious was it to _everyone_? Luna had picked up on it, though she seemed sort of perceptive, anyway, so it wasn't so crazy to think that she would pick up on the emotions of people around her...

...and that was when Prompto realized that every single thing he was feeling, all of his affection and nerves in regards to Noctis, were likely being projected to Luna right then. Redness flooded his cheeks. She didn't know he was an empath, so the gods only knew what she thought right then, but she wasn't saying any of it.

Prompto tried in vain to shake off the embarrassment, and then met Luna's gaze again. "I... um... yeah." It was useless to deny that he and Noctis had gravitated toward each other, anyway. Whether or not he suspected that he was latching or Luna suspected that Noctis had latched... someone had latched. Prompto couldn't even complain about it.

"I apologize," Luna laughed fondly. "I wasn't trying to make you uncomfortable. By the Six, I made you so uncomfortable that I could almost feel it myself."

With a bashful laugh, Prompto admitted, "you probably could. Empathy. So..." He looked down to the sand and then flicked his eyes back up to look at Luna again. "Yeah. It's mine. Not yours." It should have been easy to tell people about his empathy at this point, but when it came out into the open in situations like this, it wasn't as easy as he wanted it to be.

Luna's eyebrows raised almost to her hairline. "I see! That explains quite a bit, actually," she admitted.

Prompto blinked. "About?" he asked. He'd never been told that his empathy 'explained' anything before.

"How all of your moods seem infectious," Luna mused, smoothing her hands through the sand and gently tugging on a dried out root to some kind of plant. She pulled it from the ground and wove it between her fingers, and Prompto watched as it cracked a little bit under the strain. "I noticed it at the party a week ago, actually. I'd been having a tough day-"

With a nod, Prompto agreed, "I think I picked up on that," as he watched her start to braid the broken strands of root into an elegant pattern.

She nodded. "Then you showed up. At first, I felt slightly anxious. A foreign feeling to me, really. I don't normally get anxious around new people. I think the last time I did was when I first met Nyx." Her smile went slightly coy as she turned her head to glance at the caravan. "Anyway, that was my first hint. And then you started to get more comfortable, to feel a little bit happier around us. Especially when Iris offered to take in your clothes and to give you some of hers," she explained, running her fingers along the braid and then setting the root down in her lap. Her hands sought out another one, then started to repeat the process.

Again, Prompto nodded. "Was hard to be too nervous around you guys. You were all so nice to me," he told her.

Luna smiled. "I don't know much about you," she admitted, "but I can tell that you need the kindness. I'm very glad that Noctis is there for you." She started braiding another root piece. A distraction for her mind. "As you felt more comfortable, I started feeling more comfortable, too. A little bit drunk, even without having had any liquor myself." She paused, glancing down at her stomach, the gentle warmth that radiated from her momentarily replacing itself with worry, and then shook her head hard.

Did that mean what Prompto thought it meant?

Before he had a chance to think any further on that, though, Luna continued. "That was when I figured out that there was something different about you. I discussed it with Nyx, and we tried to figure out what it was, but we couldn't come to a conclusion. Empathy makes sense," she nodded, glancing down at her second root. She heaved a sigh and shook her head. "I... I suppose it's useless to hide my concern around you, then, isn't it?"

"Sorry," Prompto murmured. "The downside, right there. It's invasive. Can't keep anything from anyone, and people can't really keep anything from me."

Shaking her head no, Luna started drawing idle patterns in the sand with her fingertip. "Don't be sorry. Perhaps... perhaps this is a bit of a blessing in disguise," she mused. "I need to tell someone about this, and there is no reason that it can't be you. As long as you promise to keep it between us until I tell Nyx." Luna lifted her eyes, her expression silently pleading with Prompto for discretion.

Keep it between them. So, that meant that he couldn't even tell Noctis. Granted, it wasn't like he couldn't keep a secret. Prompto just hated secrets, especially with people who mattered as much as Noctis did. Still, Luna needed a confidant, and if Prompto could be that for her, then he was more than willing. With a nod and an attempt at a comforting smile, he slid over to sit beside her, placing a hand on her forearm. Prompto trusted Luna almost as much as he trusted Noctis, so it wasn't too hard to project trust and friendliness to the woman. He watched as she turned her head and looked at him, then glanced back down at the sand.

"That has to be handy," she mumbled.

Prompto shrugged. "It is, but it isn't."

With a slow and shaky sigh, Luna nodded once in self-affirmation, turning her head to look Prompto square in the eye. "Prompto. Nyx and I... we..." She steadied herself with a breath, then swallowed nervously. "I'm pregnant, Prompto. Nyx and I are having a baby." One of her hands came to rest on her stomach.

That was exactly what Prompto had thought she was trying to say, and he was torn between several reactions at the same time. The first of which was happiness for Luna. A baby. Luna was a kind person, and Nyx seemed like a nice guy, too. After that, though, came a flood of realization. A baby. A baby _here_. A baby for someone who, apparently, Izunia was obsessed with in the same way that he was obsessed with Prompto. The happy feeling was quickly washed over with something else. Worry, for starters. Both worry that he was picking up from Luna and worry that he was feeling on his own. He was happy for her, too, because even with the very limited amount he knew about them, he had a feeling that Luna and Nyx would make fantastic parents.

Still... "a baby. Here."

Luna nodded her head. "That's exactly how I feel about it," she murmured miserably. "I want to be ecstatic, because I love Nyx so much that I can't stand it most days. Nyx would be an excellent father. He loves me and he would love a baby just as much. Here, though. Here, how could any baby be happy? How could any baby be _safe_?" she asked, turning her head to look at Prompto.

"With all of us to keep it safe." The answer came without any real thought, but honestly, what thought was even necessary? Prompto would do whatever he could to help Luna keep the baby safe, and so would Nyx, and he _knew_ that Noctis would want to help, too. He saw Luna as a sister. That would mean that this baby... this would be like a niece.

A bitter smile crossed Luna's face. "That's not the only thing I'm concerned about," she confessed. "Ardyn's obsession with me. I know you understand that concern, Prompto. What will he do if he discovers that Nyx and I... if he realizes that Nyx is the father?"

A thought entered Prompto's mind—the fact that Izunia would have to be _really stupid_ not to realize that Luna and Nyx were in a relationship—but he waved it off. Tightening his arm around Luna's shoulders and pulling her to him in a gentle hug, he shook his head. "We won't tell him," Prompto promised. "We won't even tell him about the-"

Cutting him off with a laugh and a quirk of her eyebrow, Luna pointed out a flaw. "Prompto. I'm going to gain weight. There is going to be another life-form inside of me. He's going to notice," she reminded him.

Right. Right, that was a thing. Prompto raked his teeth over his lower lip and wracked his brain for any sort of solution to this problem. It only took a couple of seconds. "Noctis," Prompto pointed out. "His illusions. I know that he can make small things disappear from people's view, right? He told me how he did it with the metal sheet he keeps in his booth to use as a lock pick. If he can do it with that, he can do it with this, can't he?"

For a second, it looked like Luna was going to protest, but the protest faded and she turned to look at Prompto. "I suppose that could work," she mused. "But... that's still a long ways away. I don't even know how far along I am. I just know that I purchased a pregnancy test yesterday while Nyx and I were out on the town. Keeping it hidden from him was very difficult, but I had to. I didn't want to frighten him. I..." She glanced back down at the sand. "I don't even know how I'm supposed to _tell_ him. What if he-"

"Hey," Prompto squeezed her gently, rubbing her shoulder and projecting calm outward in an attempt to stave off any worry for the moment. "I don't know Nyx very well, but I know when someone's in love. Nyx loves you. He won't care. Or... he _will_ care, but for the right reasons. He'll love any baby that the two of you have. It won't matter what happens. I bet he'll do anything to protect you. To protect it." He glanced down at Luna's hand on her stomach, and then gently nudged her with his shoulder, flashing her an attempt at a comforting smile.

Luna smiled weakly, though Prompto wasn't sure if it was because of his projection of comfort or because she was actually feeling better. "I suppose the first step _should_ be to speak to him about it, shouldn't it? Not to cry behind my caravan." She laughed once, bitterly, at her own expense.

Shrugging, Prompto told her, "only when you're ready, y'know?"

She nodded. "Absolutely only when I'm ready, but I think I should force myself to be ready. Nyx can always tell when I'm keeping a secret from him," she admitted with a soft, slightly amused, chuckle. "Even worse when I'm just being less than honest." She turned to glance out toward the carnival, and then looked over to Prompto. "Before I do tell him, though... would you mind asking Noctis to come by my caravan tonight?" she asked.

Prompto blinked. "I mean, of course, I don't mind, but... why?" he asked her.

Sighing, she ticked one shoulder up in a shrug. "You should come along too, actually. Once I tell Nyx about this, I'm going to propose the plan that you discussed," she explained, turning her head back to look at Prompto. "About Noctis using his illusions when the time comes. However, the fact remains that we won't be able to keep this a secret forever. Which is why... I'm going to need the rest of the group here. I think..." A pause, and her expression went stern and completely serious for a minute. "I think we all need to escape this place. Do you not?"

That... surprised Prompto more than anything. Escaping this place? That was an appealing idea for more than just the obvious reasons. Being out of here meant being _out_ of here. Not to mention, being out of here meant that, maybe, Noctis could have a normal life and see his father again. Prompto wasn't sure what kind of life awaited _him_ outside of here, but Noctis... he could have a good life. He could be _happy_ , and he could see his father. The warm feeling that always occurred when he thought of his friend spread out through his veins again, and he turned to glance toward Noctis' caravan.

"No, I do," he agreed with her, turning his head to glance at her.

Luna nodded. "Ignis and I have many ideas about this," she admitted. "We have weekly get-togethers where we either drink wine or tea—though I suppose I'll be relegated to tea for the foreseeable future." Her eyes fell to her stomach, she chuckled a soft note, then looked back up at Prompto again. "I suspect that it is high time we allow all the others in on our ideas."

Prompto blinked. He guessed the feeling of trust that he was trying to project had worked, because, for some reason, Luna saw fit to let him in on those plans. With a half-chuckle, Prompto met her eyes. "I... I guess a baby will motivate people to do things they wouldn't normally do," he mused.

With a nod, Luna reached into her lap, picking up one of the braided roots and setting it on Prompto's lap instead. "Thank you, Prompto," she told him. "Talking to you was exactly what I needed. You listened, and assuaged my worries, but not only that, you told me that I was being a little bit silly, not telling Nyx about this." She turned so that she was facing him and hugged him loosely. "Noctis is very lucky to have you."

That coaxed a little bit of red up to Prompto's cheeks as he raised his other arm and hugged Luna back. "He's been... he's been really good to me," he confessed.

While waking up in Noctis' bed had been the best feeling that Prompto ever recalled feeling, a part of him wondered, and worried, that he didn't quite deserve it. The way that Noctis treated him, it was unlike anyone had treated him in _ages_. Similar to the way Cindy and Loqi treated him, but different. Noctis took care of him when he was hung over, like Cindy and Loqi would have, sure. It was more than that, though. The way that he felt when Noctis wrapped his arms around Prompto, the way that he felt like the outside world mattered a little bit less—the way he felt _happy_ —it was unlike anything he had ever felt before.

"You've been very good _for_ him. For some time, Ignis and I worried that one of these days, Noctis would take his own life," Luna confessed as she pushed back from the hug and got up from the ground. She reached a hand down to Prompto to help him up, and continued speaking. "Since he met you, though, we've seen a marked change in him. He smiles more. He seems happier. He has _hope_ in his eyes, Prompto. You brought him hope, and helped him feel stronger."

Prompto accepted her hand, and let her pull him to his feet. He chewed his lip, thinking back to the night that he and Noctis had met. How sad Noctis had been—how _miserable_ he'd been—and how hard it had been to convince him to step back from the ledge. Prompto had promised to keep it a secret, but knowing how fragile his friend was made it hard. As much as he seemed happy now, Prompto knew both from experience and from watching other people around him how tentative situations like that could be. It wasn't hard to tilt his mood back toward the negative. He couldn't imagine it being too hard with Noctis, too.

It seemed like Luna picked up on it, because she placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezed gently, and asked, "is everything okay, Prompto?"

Quickly, Prompto snapped himself out of it and nodded at Luna. "Yeah! Y-yeah, I'm fine, it's fine. I'm just... I'm thinking back to the day that Noctis and I met. Wh-when Izunia was showing me around the park." It was probably pretty obvious in the fact that it was a lie. Especially since Prompto could feel himself projecting his nervousness out toward Luna.

He tried not to, and even tried not to meet her gaze, but there was suspicion in her eyes now, and he felt guilty all of a sudden. He'd promised Noctis that he would keep it secret, but that would require never giving any sort of hint. And he'd already given a hint. He pressed his lips together, glancing down at the sand and trying not to meet Luna's gaze.

"Prompto," Luna encouraged. "You can talk to me, you know? You just got me to confess something that I had every intent to deal with on my own, so why don't you share your burden with me, hm?"

Shit. She was right, of course, but that didn't mean that Prompto was in _love_ with the thought of betraying the promise that he'd made to Noctis. Still, he glanced up at her again, sighing softly. "I guess it'd be too much to expect you to believe me when I tell you that it's nothing, right?" It was a joke, but also he held a vague bit of hope.

Hope that was smashed when Luna nodded her agreement. "It would be," she told him.

With a sigh, he turned to glance over his shoulder. "Walk with me? I need to get my work uniform and I can tell you while we talk. As... as long as no one else shows up. It's..." It was private, and it wasn't even his story to tell, that was what he was going to say. He didn't finish it, though. Instead, he just looked at Luna hopefully, worried, asking her wordlessly not to refuse.

She didn't. She nodded and gestured for Prompto to start walking. "Lead the way."

So, he did. As they walked, Luna coaxed the story out of him. All of it. How Izunia had dropped the news about Noctis' dad and then walked away, how Prompto had found Noctis on the cliffside in Ghovoras, how hard it had been to convince him to come back. How sad, how _miserable_ Noctis had been that night, and how for the rest of the night, Prompto still got waves of misery, of desperation, of resignation from Noctis. He'd been so low that Prompto worried about him still, and as he told Luna that—how he knew that pleasant moods could be fragile and fleeting—he realized how worried he really was about Noctis. How he really, _really_ didn't want to lose him.

"I convinced him to come back," Prompto insisted. "I'm not sure if it was manipulative or what it was. But, I got him to trust me, and convinced him to come back, and then stayed at his caravan with him until three in the morning, talking and projecting calm. Trying to keep him from doing anything too rash. I also pointed out the fact that Izunia might have been lying. About his dad, I mean."

Luna nodded. "Yes, when Noctis gets like that, he tends to overlook the simple things. Sometimes things as simple as the fact that Ardyn is a lying snake who lives to make his life miserable," she admitted.

Sighing, Prompto nodded. "I promised him that I wouldn't tell, though. He didn't want you guys to know, and I..." That was a promise he'd blown pretty spectacularly.

As she stepped in front of him, Luna placed a hand on each of Prompto's shoulders and smiled warmly. "Some promises need to be broken," she reassured him. "Noctis is a very strong person, but sometimes with strength comes fragility. He carries so much, so much loneliness and so much sadness, and he carries it so well that it's easy for us to forget sometimes, how much it weighs down on him." She glanced down at the ground. "I want to thank you," she added as she looked back up. "For saving his life, and for convincing him that it's worth living."

"I mean, I used my empathy, so-"

Luna shook her head no. "That isn't what I meant, Prompto. Yes, you absolutely saved his life that night, but I also think you've been saving it ever since."

Prompto blinked. "What do you-"

"Let me explain," she smiled sidelong at him, and Prompto got a feeling of ease from her, alongside the still-lingering feeling of worry that rolled from her in slightly smaller waves in between the waves of relaxation. "We're all Noctis' friends, of course. Since his father was taken away, though, he's taken up a habit of keeping everyone at arm's length. We're not sure, exactly, if it's because he's afraid of losing us too, or if it's because he's just sad and lonely and doesn't want to feel like he's getting in the middle of us—which, of course, he wouldn't be—but it's what he's doing. Since you came along, though, he's been so much... brighter."

Brighter? Prompto blinked again, biting down on his lower lip and looking at Luna again. "Brighter, how?" he asked.

Her smile softened. "Brighter," she repeated, as if it was enough of an answer. "As in, he's been happier. Less reclusive. And the way he smiles is more honest, too. More genuine. I think, even after you saved him the first day, you kept saving him. You've been saving him ever since. And for that, we all owe you a very deep debt of gratitude."

Reclusive. It was hard to imagine Noctis—the person he'd spent so much time with over the past week, the person who always tried to make sure he was happy, safe, felt good about himself—as reclusive. He guessed that he'd only really known Noctis for just over a week, so knowing everything wasn't really possible, but imagining him as reclusive was... sad. He was so kind, so gentle; he cared so much that Prompto just couldn't see it. He couldn't see Noctis as anyone but the warm and caring person who he couldn't seem to get enough of, no matter how much time they spent together.

In the center of his chest, he felt that knot pleasantly tightening, just a little bit, and releasing another wave of warmth out from the center. It spread out through his whole body, and Prompto could almost feel it radiating from him. Just like always, it felt good. It felt warm, safe. Happy. Just like being with Noctis did. Instantly, he wished that he could put it back into the knot, to hide it from Luna. What would she think? Prompto glanced down at the ground, a dusting of flush hitting his cheeks and warming them up.

Prompto was starting to get the feeling that, maybe, he knew what that warmth meant.

The way Luna was smiling at him, though, told him that it was too late to hide it. Her expression was soft still, and her smirk quirked upward like she knew something that Prompto didn't know—but was starting to figure out. She placed a hand on his arm and, without hesitation, told Prompto, "you know, I fell in love with Nyx much faster than you fell in love with Noctis."

Love. The sound of the word made Prompto jump and made his eyes shoot open like a taut rolling shade. "L-love?" he asked Luna. "You think I..." She thought he _loved_ Noctis?

Yeah, he definitely _liked_ Noctis. Yeah, being with Noctis made his own shortcomings seem a little bit less important. He _absolutely_ felt safe with Noctis, and happy, and comfortable. _Love_ though? Prompto had never been in love before. He'd never had anyone in his life for long enough to _be_ in love. Before he'd turned to selling himself, he'd had a couple of boyfriends and a single girlfriend, but they were always passing relationships that never really amounted to anything. Was it possible that he could really be in _love_ with Noctis? What he felt for his friend was absolutely stronger than what he'd felt for any of his past relationships, but that didn't automatically make it love, did it?

"Do you not?" she asked him.

The fact that Prompto couldn't immediately give her a definite no answer was more telling than anything else. Swallowing nervously as they stood, stopped in the middle of the clearing that they had their parties in, Prompto turned to ask Luna, "how do you know when you love someone?"

A gentle but sad smile was Luna's only initial response. "There are many ways to tell. It's simple sometimes... when you can't stop thinking about them. When just thinking about them makes you feel like everything in your day is a little bit better. When just the thought of them, the thought of their smile and the way they look at you, picks you up no matter what else is going on. When you can't get enough of them," she placed a hand on her chest, playing with a small silver locket. It looked like a gift, maybe something that Nyx had given to her.

"Oh..." Prompto murmured.

So far, nothing she was saying was wrong. So far, everything that she was saying was exactly how Noctis made him feel. What did that mean? Did that mean that he was in love with Noctis? Sure, she'd said that her feelings for Nyx had developed a lot faster, but Prompto had only known Noctis for a little more than a week. They'd been on one date. They'd had sex and everything, but that was something that Prompto had done with a lot of other people. Still, none of those other times—not a single one—had ever felt as _good_ as it did with Noctis. None of those men had ever taken care of him like Noctis did. Prompto swallowed thickly, raking his teeth over his lip and turning to glance at Luna nervously.

"Sometimes it's subtler than that," she told him. "Sometimes it's not a mental thing. Ignis told me once, that the moment that he realized that he was in love with Gladio, it was more of a little knot of warmth." She placed a hand on her chest. "It starts right here. And then fills your whole body with this warmth that... it's addictive. Intoxicating."

Prompto swallowed thickly. That much was true, too. "Which was it for you with Nyx?" he asked her, his voice a shaky little croak.

Luna smiled gently, warmly, and then glanced over at Prompto. "A bit of both," she confessed. "Mostly the emotional, but I didn't notice until Ignis told me that I felt the physical part of it, too. I still do. Every time I look at him, I feel that knot. And I find myself asking exactly what I did to get lucky enough for him to love me, too." One of her hands went down to rest on her stomach, and her smile grew a little bit wider.

So, Luna had felt both of them, too. It wasn't _crazy_ for him to be in love with Noctis, was it? Noctis had been so amazing to him. So warm and so kind and so... everything that the rest of the world had never been. If Prompto was going to love anyone, it made perfect sense for it to be Noctis. This fast, though? One week? It was crazy. It was stupid.

It was true.

Prompto swallowed nervously, then glanced over at Luna, just in time for her to ask, "which one is it for you?"

"B-both..." Prompto answered shakily. "A lot of both. I... am I insane? How can I possibly love him already?" he asked her.

She shook her head on, wrapping her arms around him in a gentle hug. "You aren't insane, Prompto," she reassured him. "You aren't. I could feel the love radiating from you that day at Iris' caravan, after the party. It's okay. It's absolutely okay for you to love him already. Strong relationships have formed on less." She pulled back from the hug, but kept one hand on his bicep and brought the other up to touch his face.

It _was_ insane, though. It was insane for him to be in love already. It was insane, but it was true, and now Prompto was completely and totally confused. "Don't tell him, Luna. P-please?"

Sympathy flooded him from Luna's direction, but she nodded her head. "Of course I won't. If anyone is going to tell him, Prompto, it'll have to be you. I suspect that he wouldn't believe it if it came from me, anyway." She brushed some hair out of his face.

Why not, though? Noctis was so amazing, so _incredible_ , that he had to have people falling in love with him left and right. There had to be countless people that were absolutely head over heels for him. As the pair of them continued the walk to Prompto's caravan in silence, Prompto realized how terrible this was. Noctis would never love him back. There was no way—no way at _all_ —that Noctis could ever love a whore. He could never know. It was as simple as that. Noctis could never know how he felt, because the moment he _did_ know... Prompto would lose him forever.

And that would kill him faster than anything in this place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Needed some of that sweet, sweet Prompto/Luna friendship! ♥


End file.
